Title:Growth Factors as Tools in Photoreceptor Cell Regeneration and Vision Recovery
Volume: 21
Issue: 6
Author(s): Fatemeh Forouzanfar, Mana Shojapour, Zahra Sadat Aghili and Samira Asgharzade*
Affiliation:
- Cellular and Molecular Research Center, Basic Health Sciences Institute, Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences, Shahrekord,Iran
Keywords:
Differentiation, embryonic stem cells, growth factor, photoreceptor, fibroblast, taurin and Retinoic Acid (RA).
Abstract:
Photoreceptor loss is a major cause of blindness around the world. Stem cell therapy offers
a new strategy in retina degenerative disease. Retinal progenitors can be derived from embryonic stem
cells (ESC) in vitro, but cannot be processed to a mature state. In addition, the adult recipient retina
presents a very different environment than the photoreceptor precursor donor.
It seems that modulation of the recipient environment by ectopic development regulated growth factors
for transplanted cells could generate efficient putative photoreceptors. The purpose of this review
article was to investigate the signaling pathway of growth factors including: insulin-like growth factors
(IGFs), fibroblast growth factors (FGF), Nerve growth factor (NGF), Brain-derived neurotrophic
factor (BDNF), Taurin and Retinoic acid (RA) involved in the differentiation of neuroretina cell, like;
photoreceptor and retinal progenitor cells. Given the results available in the related literature, the differentiation
efficacy of ESCs toward the photoreceptor and retinal neurons and the important role of
growth factors in activating signaling pathways such as Akt, Ras/Raf1/ and ERKs also inhibit the
ASK1/JNK apoptosis pathway. Manipulating differentiated culture, growth factors can influence photoreceptor
transplantation efficiency in retinal degenerative disease.