Postnatal neurogenesis and molecular characterization of different types of neural progenitor cells in the fish retina

Abstract

Different regions of the brain in vertebrates appear to have different neurogenic capacity in adults. However, our knowledge of the neurogenic process and the types of neural progenitor cells (NPCs) involved in it comes from a small number of animal models. We expanded the characterization of NPCs to the retina o fishes that, because of its high neurogenic potential at postnatal stages, has resulted advantageous to deepen in the study of postnatal neurogenesis. The main objective of this Thesis is the evaluation of the proliferative potential of the postnatal retina of elasmobranch (catshark) and teleost (zebrafish) fish species, and the identification and molecular characterization of the different types of NPCs of the catshark retina.