| First Author | Kokkinopoulos I | Year | 2008 |
| Journal | Mol Cell Neurosci | Volume | 38 |
| Issue | 3 | Pages | 359-73 |
| PubMed ID | 18514541 | Mgi Jnum | J:137047 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:3797685 | Doi | 10.1016/j.mcn.2008.03.008 |
| Citation | Kokkinopoulos I, et al. (2008) Isolation and characterisation of neural progenitor cells from the adult Chx10(orJ/orJ) central neural retina. Mol Cell Neurosci 38(3):359-73 |
| abstractText | Retinal stem cells have been isolated from the ciliary epithelium (CE) of the mammalian retina. However, the central neural retina (CNR) lacks the capability to regenerate, a phenomenon retained by lower vertebrates. Mutations in the Chx10 homeobox gene cause reduced proliferation of retinal progenitor cells during development, leading to microphthalmia. Recently, we showed that in Chx10(orJ/orJ) mice, dividing cells persist in the adult CNR, suggesting the existence of a dormant progenitor population. Here, we show that these cells are proliferative and give rise to neurospheres in vitro, a characteristic of neural stem cells. However, these adult-derived CNR progenitors differ from those of the wildtype CE, leading to de-pigmented, larger and more numerous neurospheres expressing Muller glial cell markers. Our results suggest that lack of Chx10 leads to maintenance of a dormant neural progenitor population in the adult CNR. Furthermore, Chx10 is not required for in vitro proliferation of these progenitors. |
