Organotypic Culturing as a Way to Study Recovery Opportunities of the Eye Retina in Vertebrates and Humans

摘要

Using the literature and the authors' own data, the review provides information on experiments carried out at different times with organotypic culturing of the retina in vertebrates and humans. The method allows one to maintain the structure and viability of the retina, model a number of its pathological conditions, and observe the processes of retinal development, regeneration, reconstruction, death, and growth of neuron outgrowths. In addition, organotypic culturing makes it possible to affect all indicated processes by different regulating factors as well as protective/damaging agents at strictly specified concentrations and under controlled conditions. Particular attention is paid to the behavior of retinal pigment epithelium cells, photoreceptor cells, Muller glia cells, and ganglion cells and their axons (that is, to those cell populations that are most often affected in cases of different pathological conditions and retinal diseases). A separate section is devoted to the production and culturing of so-called retinal organoids, which is being actively developed at present. The direction promises opportunities for the transplantation of retinal cells, conducting experiments on gene therapy, and testing ophthalmic pharmacological drugs.