Abstract
Abstract: :
Purpose: To investigate the presence of Thy-1, a marker for retinal ganglion cells, in human retinal precursor (HRP) cells pretreated with neurotrophic factors, including brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) and ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNF). Methods: Growth of neurites, the presence of Thy-1 antigen (immunofluorescence staining), and Thy-1 mRNA expression (RT-PCR) were examined on both transformed and non-tranformed HRP cells in the presence or absence of BDNF, GDNF or CNF (100 ng/ml, 3 days). Results: All three neurotrophic factors induced neurite outgrowth in transformed and non-transformed HRP cells. Thy-1 was present in these cells as shown by immunofluorescence staining. RT-PCR revealed the presence of Thy-1 mRNAs (593bp) in these cells. Conclusions: Transformed and non-transformed HRP cells, induced to differentiate by neurotrophic factors, have ganglion cell phenotype and express the ganglion cell marker Thy-1. Thus, these HRP cells may be valuable in understanding neuroprotective function in a retinal ganglion model.
Keywords: retina: proximal(bipolar, amacrine, and gangli • gene/expression • immunohistochemistry