Activating the regenerative potential of Müller glia cells in a regeneration-deficient retina

Activating the regenerative potential of Müller glia cells in a regeneration - 1 deficient retina 2 3

Müller glia: a promising target for therapeutic regeneration.

In the past 10 years, there has been a paradigm shift in our understanding of brain development and approaches to treat degenerative diseases, including those that affect the retina. The latest knowledge includes (1) the discovery that the adult brain harbors proliferating progenitors and that neurons are born throughout life, particularly in the subventricular zone (SVZ) of the lateral ventric...

Inhibition of Müller glial cell division blocks regeneration of the light-damaged zebrafish retina.

The adult zebrafish retina possesses a robust regenerative response. In the light-damaged retina, Müller glial cell divisions precede regeneration of rod and cone photoreceptors. Neuronal progenitors, which arise from the Müller glia, continue to divide and use the Müller glial cell processes to migrate to the outer nuclear layer and replace the lost photoreceptors. We tested the necessity of M...

Regulation of Stem Cell Properties of Müller Glia by JAK/STAT and MAPK Signaling in the Mammalian Retina

In humans and other mammals, the neural retina does not spontaneously regenerate, and damage to the retina that kills retinal neurons results in permanent blindness. In contrast to embryonic stem cells, induced pluripotent stem cells, and embryonic/fetal retinal stem cells, Müller glia offer an intrinsic cellular source for regenerative strategies in the retina. Müller glia are radial glial cel...

Transgenic expression of the proneural transcription factor Ascl1 in Müller glia stimulates retinal regeneration in young mice.

Müller glial cells are the source of retinal regeneration in fish and birds; although this process is efficient in fish, it is less so in birds and very limited in mammals. It has been proposed that factors necessary for providing neurogenic competence to Müller glia in fish and birds after retinal injury are not expressed in mammals. One such factor, the proneural transcription factor Ascl1, i...