R. Kodama et G. Eguchi, FROM LENS REGENERATION IN THE NEWT TO IN-VITRO TRANSDIFFERENTIATION OF VERTEBRATE PIGMENTED EPITHELIAL-CELLS, Seminars in cell biology, 6(3), 1995, pp. 143-149
Through studies to clarify the cellular origin of lens regeneration in
the newt, the pigmented epithelial cells of the iris and the retina o
f many vertebrate species have been shown to possess a dormant potency
to transdifferentiate into the lens. The method of in-vitro culture o
f pigmented epithelial cells has been optimized to enable detailed stu
dies of the transdifferentiation process by molecular techniques. Grow
th factors and extracellular matrix components are found to be importa
nt in the control of the transdifferentiation process. New systems for
in-vitro culture are introduced, while prospects for renewed in-vivo
studies using newts are given.