Interkinetic nuclear migration in the regenerating retina

Abstract

In the adult zebrafish, death of retinal neurons stimulates Müller glia to re-enter the cell cycle to produce neuronal progenitor cells (NPCs) that undergo further cell divisions and differentiate to replace lost neurons in the correct spatial locations. Understanding the mechanisms regulating retinal regeneration will ultimately provide avenues to overcome vision loss in human. Recently, the observation of interkinetic nuclear migration (INM) of Müller glia in the regenerating zebrafish retina resulted in the inclusion of an additional complex step to the regeneration process. The pathways regulating INM and its function in the regenerating retina have not been well studied. Here, we summarize the evidence for INM in the regenerating retina and review mechanisms that control INM during neuro-epithelial development in the context of pathways known to be critical during retinal regeneration.