Retinal Muller cell culture

A mini-review is presented of the current techniques for maintaining Muller cells in a culture. Within the retina, Muller cells are the predominant gl ial cells. These highly specialised cells extend over the entire neural ret ina. One of the most important of the various physiological functions of Mu ller cells is to regulate the balance of ions and neurotransmitters in the retina. Disturbance of these regulatory functions may lead to toxic effects on receptor and other neural cells in the neuroretina, and may be a common mechanism of clinical retinal neuropathy. The main excitatory neurotransmi tter in the retina is glutamate. Muller cells regulate the amount of glutam ate in the synaptic regions of the neural network in the retina. Accumulati on of extra glutamate seems to be an important mechanism for initiating pat hological changes leading to retinal damage. Many previous in vitro studies on the role of Muller cells in retinal toxicology have been based on the u se of morphological and histochemical methods. In cell toxicology studies, it is important to develop culture techniques able to provide more cells fo r biochemical determinations.