Abstract
Müller cells can be activated and included in different functions under many kinds of pathological conditions, however, the status of Müller cells in retinitis pigmentosa are still unknown. Using immunohistochemisty, Western blots and co-culture, we found that Müller cells RCS rats, a classic model of RP, could be activated during the progression of retinal degeneration. After being activated at early stage, Müller cells began to proliferate and hypertrophy, while at later stages, they formed a local ‘glial seal’ in the subretinal space. As markers of Müller cells activation, the expression of GFAP and ERK increased significantly with progression of retinal degeneration. Co-cultures of normal rat Müller cells and mixed RCS rat retinal cells show that Müller cells significantly increase GFAP and ERK in response to diffusable factors from the degenerting retina, which implies that Müller cells activation is a secondary response to retinal degeneration.
The authors Tong Tao Zhao and Zheng Qin Yin contributed equally to this work.
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Acknowledgments
The authors thank Dr. T. Fitz Gibon for comments on earlier drafts of the paper; Yu Xiao Zeng, Dong Ning Liu, Li Feng Chen, Yan Hua Wang for excellent technical support. This work was supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (Grant No. 2007CB512203), and the funds from a Nature Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 30772371).
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Zhao, T.T., Tian, C.Y., Yin, Z.Q. (2010). Activation of Müller Cells Occurs During Retinal Degeneration in RCS Rats. In: Anderson, R., Hollyfield, J., LaVail, M. (eds) Retinal Degenerative Diseases. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 664. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1399-9_66
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1399-9_66
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