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Müller cells may be used in the future for novel therapeutic strategies to protect neurons against apoptosis (for example, somatic gene therapy), or to differentiate retinal neurons from Müller/stem cells. Meanwhile, a proper understanding of the gliotic responses of Müller cells in the diseased retina, and of their protective vs. detrimental effects, is essential for the development of efficient therapeutic strategies that use and stimulate the neuron-supportive/-protective - and prevent the destructive - mechanisms of gliosis.
List of contents
Introduction.- Basic properties of Müller cells.- Müller cell gliosis.- Müller cells in the healthy retina.- Retinal Development.- Müller cells as 'light cables'.- Soft Müller cells as shock absorbers and axon paths.- 'Metabolic symbiosis'.- Neurotransmitter recycling.- Retinal K+ homeostasis.- Retinal water homeostasis.- Other interactions.- Müller cells in the diseased retina.- Retinal detachment.- Diabetic retinopathy.- Macular edema.- Proliferative retinopathies.- Ischemia-reperfusion.- Hepatic retinopathy.- Retinoschisis.- Retinitis pigmentosa and support of neuronal survival.- Future directions.- Index.
Summary
Müller cells may be used in the future for novel therapeutic strategies to protect neurons against apoptosis (for example, somatic gene therapy), or to differentiate retinal neurons from Müller/stem cells. Meanwhile, a proper understanding of the gliotic responses of Müller cells in the diseased retina, and of their protective vs. detrimental effects, is essential for the development of efficient therapeutic strategies that use and stimulate the neuron-supportive/-protective - and prevent the destructive - mechanisms of gliosis.
