Transgenic expression of the proneural transcription factor Ascl1 in Muller glia stimulates retinal regeneration in young mice.

ABSTRACT: Müller glial cells are the source of retinal regeneration in fish and birds; although this process is efficient in fish, it is less so in birds and very limited in mammals. It has been proposed that factors necessary for providing neurogenic competence to Müller glia in fish and birds after retinal injury are not expressed in mammals. One such factor, the proneural transcription factor Ascl1, is necessary for retinal regeneration in fish but is not expressed after retinal damage in mice. We previously reported that forced expression of Ascl1 in vitro reprograms Müller glia to a neurogenic state. We now test whether forced expression of Ascl1 in mouse Müller glia in vivo stimulates their capacity for retinal regeneration. We find that transgenic expression of Ascl1 in adult Müller glia in u

SUBMITTER: Ueki Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4640735 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature