Activation of endogenous retinal stem cells in RCS rats during onset and development of retinal degeneration / 第三军医大学学报

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate whether endogenous retinal stem cells can be activated in the retina of Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) rats during the onset and development of retinitis pigmentosa. Methods The RCS-p+ rats with inherited retinal dystrophy were divided into 3 groups the initial stage group (15-day RCS rats), the mid-stage group (30-day RCS rats) and the advanced stage group (90-day RCS rats) according to the severity of degeneration (n=4 in each group). RCS-rdy+p+ rats without retinal degeneration served as controls, and divide into three groups (15-day control, 30-day control, 90-day control) matched with RCS-p+ rats. A transcription factor (Chx10) expressed by embryonic retinal progenitors was detected using immunofluorescence and Western blotting. Results All of the retinal layers in the three control groups and in the 15-day RCS rats did not express Chx10, while the positive expression was observed in the photoreceptor layers of the 30-day and 90-day RCS rats. Chx10 protein could be detected by Western blotting in all RCS groups, but expressed higher in 30-day RCS rats than in 15-day and 90-day RCS rats (P