This thesis reports the isolation, characterization and allotransplantation in porcine retina of ciliary epithelium (CE)-derived cells, also known as retinal stem cells (RSCs). The self-renewal... Show moreThis thesis reports the isolation, characterization and allotransplantation in porcine retina of ciliary epithelium (CE)-derived cells, also known as retinal stem cells (RSCs). The self-renewal capacity and differentiation potential of these cells in vitro and in vivo makes them candidate donors in cell replacement approaches for treating retinal degenerative diseases. The use of pig as the animal model should facilitate translation of these findings to applications for human conditions. The work described in this thesis shows that cultures of self-renewing cells can be obtained in vitro from the newborn porcine CE and that these cells can differentiate into retinal and RPE phenotypes both in vitro and in vivo after transplantation in adult pigs. However, the nature and physiological role of these cells in potential endogenous repair mechanisms still remain to be explored. Notably, their remarkable plasticity in vitro makes them an interesting cell model to study this phenomenon of recent identification. Show less
