Abstract
Abstract: :
Purpose:In chicken retina, neurotoxic damage to the retina or the combination of insulin and fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2) stimulates Müller glia to dedifferentiate, proliferate, and generate new neurons. In the present study, we examined the effects of laser photocoagulation and intraocular injection of FGF2 on Müller glia in adult rat retina. Methods:The right eyes of adult Brown Norway rats were treated with laser photocoagulation or two consecutive daily intraocular injections of FGF2. The eyes were removed 3, 7, and 14 days after laser treatment or 2 days after the first FGF2 injection, respectively. Retinas were labeled with antibodies to nestin, vimentin, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), glial glutamate–aspartate transporter (GLAST), glutamine synthetase and cyclinD1. Results: Nestin expression in Müller cells was induced by either laser photocoagulation or intraocular injection of bFGF. Expression was seen in lesions of photocoagulation and in the whole retina after bFGF injection. In contrast, GFAP expression in Müller cells was not seen in the photocoagulated lesions. In addition, cyclinD1 expression was found in the nuclei of Müller cells after photocoagulation. Conclusions: These results suggest that dedifferentiation of Müller glia can be induced by either laser photocoagulation or intraocular injection of bFGF.
Keywords: Muller cells • growth factors/growth factor receptors • retinal degenerations: cell biology