Retinal Repair Using Stem Cells

The retina is the main light-sensing layer of the eye. Degenerations of the retinal cells are leading causes of blindness worldwide. This cellular loss in the mammalian retina is not followed by any appreciable cellular regeneration. In this chapter, we will cover various age-associated retinal degenerations. We will provide evidence of retinal regeneration in nonmammalian systems as well as attempts to rejuvenate stem cell phenotype in mammalian retinas. We will finish with recent work using pluripotent stem cells, both embryonic stem cells as well as induced pluripotent stem cells, to generate new retinal cells for replacement purposes.