Retina regeneration in zebrafish

Unlike mammals, zebrafish are able to regenerate a damaged retina. Key to this regenerative response are Muller glia that respond to retinal injury by undergoing a reprogramming event that allows them to divide and generate a retinal progenitor that is multipotent and responsible for regenerating all major retinal neuron types. The fish and mammalian retina are composed of similar cell types with conserved function. Because of this it is anticipated that studies of retina regeneration in fish may suggest strategies for stimulating Muller glia reprogramming and retina regeneration in mammals. In this review we describe recent advances and future directions in retina regeneration research using zebrafish as a model system.