THE ROLE OF THE RETINOBLASTOMA PROTEIN IN mTINAL DEVELOPMENT

Although RB1 was the first turnor suppressor gene identified, its role during retinal development is poorly understood. We first attempted to determine this by performing in vivo misexpression studies in the post-natal rat retina. Retroviral lineage analysis revealed that clone size in pRB-infected eyes was significantly reduced when compared to control eyes. This suggested that pRB has a role in regulating progenitor ce11 cycle in the developing retina. The results fiom in vivo misexpression studies also suggested a possible pRB involvement in ce11 fate determination ancUor re-specification, but more expenments must be performed before concluding this. In vitro rescue experiments with the RB-'retina is the second expenmental approach that rnay help us clai@ the role of pRB in retinal development. To this end, we established a retinal culturing protocol wherein development itz vitro mimics that in vivo, thus laying the groundwork for future rescue expenments in the RB" retina. This study presents significant findings that may help us elucidate the role pRB plays during retinal development.