Researchers unlock regenerative potential of cells in the mouse retina

NEI-funded researchers use a clue from zebrafish to discover the cues that reprogram Müller glia into retinal neurons.

Regenerating Muller glia (yellow) in the mouse retina.Tom Reh, Ph.D.

Cells within an injured mouse eye can be coaxed into regenerating neurons and those new neurons appear to integrate themselves into the eye’s circuitry, new research shows. The findings potentially open the door to new treatments for eye trauma and retinal disease. The study appears in the July 26 issue of Nature, and was funded in part by the National Eye Institute (NEI), part of the National Institutes of Health.

“The findings are significant because they suggest the feasibility of a novel approach for encouraging regeneration in the mammalian retina, the light sensitive tissue at the back of the eye that dies in many blinding diseases,” said Tom Greenwell, Ph.D., program…