TY  - JOUR
TI  - Retinal stem cells in vertebrates: parallels and divergences 


AU  - Amato, MarcosA.
AU  - Arnault, Emilie
AU  - Perron, Muriel
T2  - The International Journal of Developmental Biology
AB  - During the development of the nervous system, after a given number of 
divisions, progenitors exit the cell cycle and differentiate as neurons or glial cells. Some cells however 
do not obey this general rule and persist in a progenitor state. These cells, called stem cells, have 
the ability to self-renew and to generate different lineages. Understanding the mechanisms that 
allow stem cells to "resist" differentiating stimuli is currently one of the most fascinating research 
areas for biologists. The amphibian and fish retinas, known to contain stem cell populations, have 
been pioneering models for neural stem cell research. The 

Xenopus retina enabled the characterization of the genetic processes that occur in the path from a pluripotent stem cell to a 
committed progenitor to a differentiated neuron. More recently, the discovery that avian and 
mammalian retinas also contain stem cell populations, has contributed to the definitive view of the 
adult nervous system of upper vertebrates as a more dynamic and plastic structure than 
previously thought. This has attracted the attention of clinicians who are attempting to employ stem 
cells for transplantation into damaged tissue. Research in this area is promising and will represent 
a key instrument in the fight against blindness and retinal dystrophies. In this review, we will 
focus primarily on describing the main characteristics of various retinal stem cell populations, 
highlighting their divergences during evolution, and their potential for retinal cell transplantation. We 
will also give an overview of the signaling cascades that could modulate their potential and plasticity.
PY  - 2004
DO  - 10.1387/ijdb.041879ma
VL  - 48
IS  - 8-9
SP  - 993
EP  - 1001
J2  - Int. J. Dev. Biol.
LA  - en
SN  - 0214-6282
SN  - 1696-3547
UR  - https://ijdb.ehu.eus/article/041879ma
Y2  - 2024/11/21/19:06:20
ER  -