Eye Development

Last modified on October 29, 2011. . 

The neural retina has served as a ideal region of the nervous system to identify the molecular mechanisms that control neurogenesis and cell fate.  The  five basic types of retinal neurons and the Muller glia are derived from progenitor cells that undergo multiple rounds of mitotic cell division during the embryonic and neonatal period in mice.  The ease of isolation and the extensive markers available for characterization of the cells has allowed investigators to make great progress in the defining the functions of specific transcription factors and signaling molecules in controlling the cell fate determination and the regulation of neurogenesis.