Millions of Americans suffer from visual impairment diseases including diabetic retinopathy, macular degeneration, and glaucoma. These diseases affect the retina, a layer of cells in the posterior portion of the eye that is responsible for transmitting signals to your brain through photoreceptors that allow you to see. Our lab focuses on regenerating the retina and characterizing the process through which it occurs. The retinal pigment epithelial cells (RPE) give rise to a new retina through dedifferentiation and reprogramming. In order to characterize this process of dedifferentiation, we have taken out the retinas of the Spanish Newt, a type of salamander that is capable of regeneration in many different parts of its body. Taking out the retina, allows us to follow the steps of regeneration through microscopy, staining the cells using antibodies and their complimentary antigens, and following cell proliferation. In this project, we have discovered that regeneration of the retina in Spanish Newts takes 8 weeks and we have established a new retinectomy protocol. In the future, we are planning on optimizing a protocol that will isolate individual RPE cells to then be used in single-cell RNA sequencing. This will allow us to categorize further the genetic makeup of the RPE cells that make regenerating the retina possible. This research will one day improve the lives of many with visual impairment diseases and take us one step further into understanding regenerative medicine.
Author(s): Abigail Green, Biology and Premedical Studies
Advisor(s): Katia Del Rio-Tsonis, Department of Biology
Erika Grajales Esquivel, Department of Biology
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