Müller glial cells preserve stem cell features in retinal progenitors and contribute to their further differentiation into mature photoreceptors

SIMON M.V.; DE GENARO P.; DE LOS SANTOS EB; ROTSTEIN NP; POLITI LE

Huerta Grande, Córdoba

Congreso; II Reunion conjunta de Neurociencias; 2010

Müller glial cells preserve stem cell features in retinal progenitors and contribute to their further differentiation into mature photoreceptors M.V. Simón, P De Genaro, B. de los Santos, N. Rotstein, L. Politi Müller glial cells (MGC) are considered stem cells in the vertebrate retina, encouraging the idea of using them to replace lost neurons during neurodegenerative diseases. We have already shown that progenitor round cells (PRC) from rat retina, when co-cultured with MGC, retained their proliferative state and expressed many multipotent markers in secondary co-cultures. The interaction with MGC also induced a pool of PRC to adopt a photoreceptor (PHR) fate. Here we analyzed the ability of MGC to preserve PRC in successive passages, and we evaluated if PRC differentiated into mature and functional PHRs. Flow cytometry analyses established that about 5% of total RC were PRC in secondary co-cultures. These PRC showed stem cell markers, such as 5-bromo-2-deoxyuridine (BrdU) uptake and nestin and Pax6 expression, even after four passages. PHR-like cells in secondary co-cultures expressed Crx, an early photoreceptor marker, opsin and peripherin,  a disc structural protein and responded to light by diminishing their intracellular cGMP levels. Our results indicate that MGC are crucial in both maintaining and/or generating PRC that later differentiate into functional PHRs.