Expression of regulatory and tissue-specific genes controlling regenerative potencies of eye tissues in vertebrates

Comparative analysis of the early transformations of differentiated cells of the pigment epithelium, ciliary fold epithelium, and Muller glia in the eye of lower vertebrates and mammals during retina regeneration and cultivation was performed for the first time. Dedifferentiation and proliferation of cells and formation of progenitor multipotent cells, which are a source of retina regeneration in adult newts, were characterized using cell, molecular, and genetic markers. Neurospheres were formed during cultivation of the differentiated cells, in which progenitor multipotent cells were found that transformed into neurons of retina and brain and into glial cells. Comparative analysis of changes in the pigment epithelium cells during retina regeneration and during cultivation of differentiated cells of the pigment and ciliary epithelia and Muller glia suggests similar cell transformations at the early stages of transdifferentiation.