An insight on established retinal injury mechanisms and prevalent retinal stem cell activation pathways in vertebrate models

Implementing different tools and injury mechanisms in multiple animal models of retina regeneration,researchers have discovered the existence of retinal stem/pro-genitor cells.Although they appear to be distributed uniformly across the vertebrate lineage,the reparative potential of the retina is mainly restricted to lower vertebrates.Regenerative repair post-injury requires the creation of a proliferative niche,vital for proper stem cell activation,propagation,and lineage differentiation.This seems to be lacking in mammals.Hence,in this review,we first discuss the many forms of retinal injuries that have been generated using animal models.Next,we discuss how they are utilized to stimulate regeneration and mimic eye disease pathologies.The key to driving stem cell activation in mammals relies on the information we can gather from these models.Lastly,we present a brief update about the genes,growth factors,and signaling pathways that have been brought to light using these models.

Paired Immunoglobulin-like Receptor B Inhibition in Müller Cells Promotes Neurite Regeneration After Retinal Ganglion Cell Injury in vitro

In the central nervous system(CNS),three types of myelin-associated inhibitors(MAIs) have major inhibitory effects on nerve regeneration.They include Nogo-A,myelin-associated glycoprotein,and oligodendrocyte-myelin glycoprotein.MAIs possess two co-receptors,Nogo receptor(NgR) and paired immunoglobulin-like receptor B(PirB).Previous studies have confirmed that the inhibition of NgR only results in a modest increase in regeneration in the CNS;however,the inhibitory effects of PirB with regard to nerve regeneration after binding to MAIs remain controversial.In this study,we demonstrated that PirB is expressed in primary cultures of retinal ganglion cells(RGCs),and the inhibitory effects of the three MAIs on the growth of RGC neurites are not significantly decreased after direct PirB knockdown using adenovirus PirB shRNA.Interestingly,we found that retinal Müller cells expressed PirB and that its knockdown enhanced the regeneration of co-cultured RGC neurites.PirB knockdown also activated the JAK/Stat3 signaling pathway in Müller cells and upregulated ciliary neurotrophic factor levels.These findings indicate that PirB plays a novel role in retinal Müller cells and that its action in these cells may indirectly affect the growth of RGC neurites.The results also reveal that PirB in Müller cells affects RGC neurite regeneration.Our findings provide a novel basis for the use of PirB as a target molecule to promote nerve regeneration.

The promise of stem cell-based therapeutics in ophthalmology

The promising role of cellular therapies in the preservation and restoration of visual function has prompted intensive efforts to characterize embryonic, adult, and induced pluripotent stem cells for regenerative purposes. Three main approaches to the use of stem cells have been described： sustained drug delivery, immunomodulation, and differentiation into various ocular structures. Studies of the differentiation capacity of all three types of stem cells into epithelial, neural, glial and vascular phenotypes have reached proof-of-concept in culture, but the correction of vision is still in the early developmental stages, and the requirements for effective in vivo implementation are still unclear. We present an overview of some of the preclinical findings on stem-cell rescue and regeneration of the cornea and retina in acute injury and degenerative disorders.