Title:Adult Retinal Ganglion Cell Axon Regeneration and Re-innervation
Volume: 5
Issue: 1
Author(s): Zhen Xu and Shuyi Chen
Affiliation:
Keywords:
Axon damage, axon regeneration, cell replacement, retinal ganglion cell (RGC).
Abstract: Retinal ganglion cell (RGC) degeneration is one of the major causes for blindness, a condition
widely attributed to the pathology of RGC axons. How to promote the affected RGC axons to regenerate
is currently under intense investigation. Difficulties in adult RGC axons to regenerate are due
partially to the attenuated intrinsic re-growth ability, and further complicated by factors located in the
unfavorable microenvironments, especially the myelin sheath and the activated glia cells. Additionally,
axon damage often induces RGC death, eliminating any chance for axon regeneration, and therefore
further complicates the treatment for RGC degeneration. In this review, we discuss the different aspects
that cause regeneration failure in the RGC axons, and also the currently known factors that promote RGC axon regeneration
ability. These findings are encouraging and open the possibility that clinically meaningful regeneration may
become achievable one day in the future.