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Retinal astrocytes are immigrants from the optic nerve

Nature volume 332, pages 834–837 (1988)Cite this article

Abstract

The retina in most mammals contains two types of macroglial cells—Müller cells, which span the entire thickness of the retina, and astrocytes, which are mainly confined to the nerve fibre layer1–6. Whereas Müller cells are diffusely distributed in all vertebrate retinae, the presence and distribution of retinal astrocytes correlate with the presence and distribution of retinal blood vessels: retinae that are avascular contain no astrocytes7,8; those that are diffusely vascularized contain diffusely distributed astrocytes5–12; and those that are vascularized in a restricted region contain astrocytes only in the vascularized region7,8,13. This striking correlation between vascularization and the presence of astrocytes led Stone and Dreher to postulate that retinal astrocytes are immigrants that enter the retina with its vasculature7, although others have suggested that they derive from Miiller cells14. Here we provide strong evidence that astrocytes in the diffusely vascularized rat retina are immigrants from the optic nerve.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Medical Research Council Developmental Neurobiology Programme, Department of Biology, Medawar Building, University College London, London, WC1E 6BT, UK

    Takashi Watanabe & Martin C. Raff

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  1. Takashi Watanabe
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  2. Martin C. Raff
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Watanabe, T., Raff, M. Retinal astrocytes are immigrants from the optic nerve. Nature 332, 834–837 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1038/332834a0

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