Lab-Grown Retinas
March 19, 2024 | Terry Sharrer
“Trichromacy is unique to primates among placental mammals, enabled by blue (short/S), green (medium/M), and red (long/L) cones. . . . . In adult human tissue, the early-developing central retina contained a mix of M and L cones compared to the late-developing peripheral region, which contained a high proportion of L cones. Retinoic acid (RA)-synthesizing enzymes are highly expressed early in retinal development. High RA signaling early was sufficient to promote M cone fate and suppress L cone fate in retinal organoids. . . . . Our data suggest that RA promotes M cone fate early in development to generate the pattern of M and L cones across the human retina.” MORE
Image Credit: Sarah Hadyniak, Johns Hopkins University