Eph/ephrin system is expressed in retinal ganglion cells differentiated from progenitor/stem cells from ciliary margin.

DI NAPOLI, JENNIFER; FIORE, LUCIANO; CASTRO, IGNACIO; CARRI, NÉSTOR GABRIEL; SCICOLONE, GABRIEL

Montevideo

Congreso; VI International Meeting of Latin American Society of Developmental Biology.; 2012

Latin American Society of Developmental Biology.

It was shown that in chick embryos retinas in vivo specific combinations of Insulin and Fibroblast Growth Factor (FGF) stimulate the production of Retinal Ganglion Cells (RGCs) through the differentiation of progenitor/stem cells from the Ciliary Margin (CM) of the eye. Our objective is to obtain RGCs from neurospheres produced from the CM and study the expression of the Eph/ephrin System, the main molecular system involved in axonal guidance and the formation of the topographic connections in the optic tectum.. Neurospheres were produced from CM cells obtained from nasal and temporal sides of the eyes of 7 day embryos. Neurospheres and dissociated cells from neurospheres were cultivated over polylisin-laminin substrates and a curve of different concentrations of Insulin/FGF combinations was performed in order to determine the concentration that produced the higher percentage of RGCs within cell population. Immunocitochemestry for EphAs and ephrin As were performed. It was seen that these RGCs expressed the Eph/ephrin System. This result leads to the conclusion that the retinal ganglion cells differentiated from the stem/progenitor cells from the ciliary margin are competent to respond to axonal guidance cues.