| First Author | Moshiri A | Year | 2004 |
| Journal | J Neurosci | Volume | 24 |
| Issue | 1 | Pages | 229-37 |
| PubMed ID | 14715955 | Mgi Jnum | J:87387 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:2686792 | Doi | 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2980-03.2004 |
| Citation | Moshiri A, et al. (2004) Persistent progenitors at the retinal margin of ptc+/- mice. J Neurosci 24(1):229-37 |
| abstractText | The hedgehog signaling pathway is a key regulator of neural development, affecting both proliferation and differentiation of neural progenitors. Sonic hedgehog (Shh) is a mitogenic factor for retinal progenitors in vitro. To determine whether this signaling system is important in vivo for regulating retinal progenitor proliferation, we analyzed mice with a single functional allele of the Shh receptor patched (ptc). We found that ptc+/- mice had increased numbers of neural progenitors at every stage of retinal development that we examined. In addition, these mice had persistent progenitors at the retinal margin for up to 3 months of age, reminiscent of the ciliary marginal zone of lower vertebrates. To test whether the progenitors at the retinal margin of ptc+/- mice could be induced to regenerate retinal neurons in response to damage, we bred ptc+/- mice onto a retinal degeneration background (pro23his rhodopsin transgenic) and labeled newly generated cells with combined immunohistochemistry for bromodeoxyuridine and retinal neuron and photoreceptor-specific markers. We found newly generated neurons and photoreceptors at the retinal margin in ptc+/-;pro23his mice. We propose that the Shh pathway may act as a regulator of both prenatal and postnatal retinal growth. |
