Fish Eye New

Damage to our eyes through injury and degenerative diseases irreversibly affects our vision, yet the eyes of fish can fully recover. Like ours, their retina is composed of four cell types: light-sensitive photoreceptors, horizontal cells (pictured in red, in a zebrafish retina) that integrate their signals, ganglion cells transmitting them to other regions of the brain, and supportive Müller glia (in green). In fish, these glia have a remarkable capacity. Damage induces them to revert to stem cells, multiply and differentiate, producing the necessary cells to rebuild a functioning retina. Recent research suggests that this regeneration may be triggered by low levels of a neurotransmitter named GABA. Inhibiting GABA signalling stimulates changes in the Müller glia, while raising GABA levels has the opposite effect, hampering the recovery of blinded zebrafish. Manipulating neurotransmitter levels could have similar consequences for the human retina, raising new possibilities for restoring vision.

Written by Emmanuelle Briolat

Emmanuelle Briolat

Writer

A researcher specialising in visual signals in Lepidoptera, camouflage and the effects of light pollution, Emmanuelle’s writing covers a range of topics, from biomedical research to children’s books about moth defences.

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• Image from The Patton Lab, Vanderbilt University
• Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
• Image copyright held by original authors
• Research published in Stem Cell Reports, March 2017