Potential of Müller Glial Cells in Regeneration of Retina; Clinical and Molecular Approach

Abstract

Retinal degenerative diseases are a group of heterogenous eye diseases that affect a significant percentage of the world's population, i.e. age-related macular degeneration (AMD), diabetic retinopathy, retinitis pigmentosa (RP) and glaucoma. Regenerative medicines are looking for the novel therapies for severe injuries or chronic diseases, e.g. retina degeneration. Müller glia is the only type of retinal glia that has a common embryonic origin with retinal neurons derived from the neural crest. Also, the lack of neurons in the retina does not automatically regenerate. Therefore, Müller glial cells which make up about 5% of retinal cells, are potent source for retinal regeneration. Following the retinal damage, Müller glial cells dedifferentiate and re-enter the cell cycle, producing multipotent progenitor cells. This feature leads to applying Müller glial cells in regeneration of retina. In this study, we review the molecular and clinical approaches on this feature, focusing on the critical signaling pathways, generation and transplantation methods and clinical and sub-clinical challenges.