Transplantation of photoreceptors derived from human Muller glia restore rod function in the P23H rat.

ABSTRACT: Müller glia possess stem cell characteristics that have been recognized to be responsible for the regeneration of injured retina in fish and amphibians. Although these cells are present in the adult human eye, they are not known to regenerate human retina in vivo. Human Müller glia with stem cell characteristics (hMSCs) can acquire phenotypic and genotypic characteristics of rod photoreceptors in vitro, suggesting that they may have potential for use in transplantation strategies to treat human photoreceptor degenerations. Much work has been undertaken in rodents using various sources of allogeneic stem cells to restore photoreceptor function, but the effect of human Müller glia-derived photoreceptors in the restoration of rod photoreceptor function has not been investigated. This study ai

SUBMITTER: Jayaram H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3952927 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature