Hicks D, Forster V, Dreyfus H, Sahel J
Laboratoire Laveran, INSERM CJF 92/02, Hôpital Civil, Strasbourg, France.
Brain Res. 1994 Apr 18;643(1-2):302-5. doi: 10.1016/0006-8993(94)90037-x.
Adult human retina from enucleated ocular tissue was enzymatically dissociated and plated into plastic dishes for cell culture in serum-supplemented medium. Within a few days following seeding, islands of glial-like cells with rounded neurons growing on top of them were visible. Immunocytochemical labelling of these cultures revealed that virtually all the surviving neurons (> 98%) were rod photoreceptors, and that they extended long neurites across the glial cell surface. Hence, adult human photoreceptors retain a remarkable capacity for survival and regrowth, and such preparations may be of value for physiopathological and retinal grafting studies.
