Project description:The study was aimed at comparing the transcriptome of MG cells of the retina with the progenitors derived from them after an injury. This information will help in the identification of factors that are responsible for the retinal regeneration. Muller glia were isolated by fluorescent activated cell sorting (FACS) using uninjured retinas from transgenice zebrafish (gfap:gfp) where green florescent protein (GFP) is under the control of the glial fibrillary acidic protein (gfap) promoter. MG-derived retinal progenitors were isolated by FACS at 4 days post retinal injury from 1016 tuba1a:gfp transgenic fish where GFP is driven by the tuba1a promoter which is specifically activated in these progenitors. Total RNA was isolated from these cell populations and subjected to microarray analysis to compare their transcriptomes. Samples were prepared in duplicate.
Project description:In this work we identify genes differentially expressed in Muller glia form uninjured and injured retina with and without apobec2a knockdown
Project description:Non-mammalian vertebrates have a robust ability to regenerate injured retinal neurons from Müller glia cells (MG) that activate the proneural factor Achaete-scute homolog 1 (Ascl1/Mash1) and de-differentiate into progenitors cells. In contrast, mammalian MG have a limited regenerative response and fail to upregulate Ascl1 after injury. To test whether Ascl1 could restore a neurogenic potential to mammalian MG, we over-expressed Ascl1 in dissociated mouse MG cultures and intact retinal explants. Ascl1-infected MG upregulate retinal progenitor-specific genes, while downregulating glial genes. Furthermore, Ascl1 remodeled the chromatin at its targets from a repressive to active configuration. MG-derived progenitors differentiated into cells that exhibited neuronal morphologies, expressed retinal subtype-specific neuronal markers, and displayed neuron-like physiological responses. These results indicate that a single transcription factor, Ascl1, can produce a neurogenic state in mature Muller glia. Expresssion profiling was used to determine the genes that were changed after Ascl1 infection of P12 cultured Müller glia compared with those present in P0 progenitors and P7-P21 Müller glia
Project description:Non-mammalian vertebrates have a robust ability to regenerate injured retinal neurons from Müller glia cells (MG) that activate the proneural factor Achaete-scute homolog 1 (Ascl1/Mash1) and de-differentiate into progenitors cells. In contrast, mammalian MG have a limited regenerative response and fail to upregulate Ascl1 after injury. To test whether Ascl1 could restore a neurogenic potential to mammalian MG, we over-expressed Ascl1 in dissociated mouse MG cultures and intact retinal explants. Ascl1-infected MG upregulate retinal progenitor-specific genes, while downregulating glial genes. Furthermore, Ascl1 remodeled the chromatin at its targets from a repressive to active configuration. MG-derived progenitors differentiated into cells that exhibited neuronal morphologies, expressed retinal subtype-specific neuronal markers, and displayed neuron-like physiological responses. These results indicate that a single transcription factor, Ascl1, can produce a neurogenic state in mature Muller glia. Expresssion profiling was used to determine the genes that were changed after Ascl1 infection of P12 cultured Müller glia compared with those present in P0 progenitors and P7-P21 Müller glia Retinas were dissociated and FAC-sorted from Hes5-GFP mice at P0, P7, P10, P14 or P21 and submitted for profiling. WT Retinas were dissociated at P12, grown for 1 week in culture, and infected with lentiviruses expressing Ascl1 or GFP for four days. Total RNA was extracted and submitted for profiling.
Project description:Retinal damage causes proliferation of Muller glia, but the degree of proliferation depends on mouse strains. Muller glial proliferation was significantly promoted by the addition of GSK3 inhibitor in 129, but not in B6. We used retinal explant culture as a model for retinal damage which caused preferential photoreceptor death in a few days. We used microarrays to detail the global programme of gene expression regulating the proliferative potential of Muller glia after retinal damage. Total RNA from intact whole retina, retinal tissue cultured for three days, and retinal tissue cultured with chir99021 for three days was used. Retinal tissues from 10 weeks old mice were used.
Project description:In mammals, loss of retinal cells due to disease or trauma is an irreversible process which can lead to blindness. Interestingly, regeneration of retinal neurons is a well-established process in some non-mammalian vertebrates and is driven by the Muller glia (MG), which are able to re-enter the cell cycle and reprogram into neurogenic progenitors upon retinal injury or disease. Progress has been made to restore this mechanism in mammals to promote retinal regeneration: MG can be stimulated to generate new neurons in vivo in the adult mouse retina after the over-expression of the pro-neural transcription factor Ascl1. In this study, we applied the same strategy to reprogram human MG derived from fetal retina and retinal organoids into neurons. Combining scRNA-seq, scATAC-seq, Immunofluorescence, and electrophysiology we demonstrate that human MG can be reprogrammed into neurogenic cells in vitro.
Project description:In this work we identify genes differentially expressed in Muller glia from uninjured retina in zebrafish treated with and without DAPT for 1 day.
Project description:In this work we identify genes differentially expressed in Muller glia from uninjured retina in zebrafish treated with and without DN-MAML for 1 day.
Project description:In the lesioned zebrafish retina, Müller glia produce multipotent retinal progenitors that generate all retinal neurons, replacing lost cell types. To study the molecular mechanisms linking Müller glia reactivity to progenitor production and neuronal differentiation, we used single cell RNA sequencing of Müller glia, progenitors and regenerated progeny from uninjured and light-lesioned retinae. We discover an injury-induced Müller glia differentiation trajectory that leads into a cell population with a hybrid identity expressing marker genes of Müller glia and progenitors. A glial self-renewal and a neurogenic trajectory depart from the hybrid cell population. We further observe that neurogenic progenitors progressively differentiate to generate retinal ganglion cells first and bipolar cells last, similar to the events observed during retinal development. Our work provides a comprehensive description of Müller glia and progenitor transcriptional changes and fate decisions in the regenerating retina, which are key to tailor cell differentiation and replacement therapies for retinal dystrophies in humans.