Retinal stem cells in the adult mammalian eye

V Tropepe, BLK Coles, BJ Chiasson, DJ Horsford… - Science, 2000 - science.org
V Tropepe, BLK Coles, BJ Chiasson, DJ Horsford, AJ Elia, RR McInnes, D van der Kooy
Science, 2000science.org
The mature mammalian retina is thought to lack regenerative capacity. Here, we report the
identification of a stem cell in the adult mouse eye, which represents a possible substrate for
retinal regeneration. Single pigmented ciliary margin cells clonally proliferate in vitro to form
sphere colonies of cells that can differentiate into retinal-specific cell types, including rod
photoreceptors, bipolar neurons, and Müller glia. Adult retinal stem cells are localized to
the pigmented ciliary margin and not to the central and peripheral retinal pigmented …
The mature mammalian retina is thought to lack regenerative capacity. Here, we report the identification of a stem cell in the adult mouse eye, which represents a possible substrate for retinal regeneration. Single pigmented ciliary margin cells clonally proliferate in vitro to form sphere colonies of cells that can differentiate into retinal-specific cell types, including rod photoreceptors, bipolar neurons, and Müller glia. Adult retinal stem cells are localized to the pigmented ciliary margin and not to the central and peripheral retinal pigmented epithelium, indicating that these cells may be homologous to those found in the eye germinal zone of other nonmammalian vertebrates.
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