Project 15

Guidance molecules in the adult retina

Using explants of adult retina, we will examine in tissue culture how axon regeneration is influenced by guidance molecules that are normally expressed in the developing nervous system. We have evidence from non-mammalian species that changing the levels of cAMP and blocking certain intracellular signalling pathways alters the responses of retinal ganglion cells to these guidance molecules (Rodger et al., Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience, 2005). We will determine whether such pathways are also operative in the adult mammalian retina, providing useful new information on the factors that may enhance or interfere with the effectiveness of neural repair after injury.