What Is the nature of the RGC-5 cell line?

Abstract

The immortalized RGC-5 cell line has been widely used as a cell culture model to study the neurobiology of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs). The cells were originally introduced as derived from rat RGC showing expression of various neuronal markers, in particular the RGC-characteristic proteins Brn3 and Thy1. Recent data gave rise to concerns regarding the origin and nature of the cells. RGC-5 cells were identified to be of mouse origin and their expression of RGC characteristics was questioned by some laboratories. This article summarizes the available data on the properties of RGC-5, discusses common protocols for their differentiation and is aimed at providing researchers some guidelines on the benefits and limitations of RGC-5 for research.