Regenerative Neuroimmunology

We and others have made significant progress in developing regeneration strategies via reprogramming Muller glia. However, the neurogenic efficacy in the injured environment is low because only a subset of Muller glia successfully re-program into neurogenic progenitors while another subset of Muller glia express genes associated with inflammatory processes. We hypothesized that the inflammation that accompanies neuronal cell loss restricts the regenerative potential of Muller glia. Indeed, we recently found that ablation of microglia, the endogenous immune cell of the retina, dramatically improved retinal regeneration.

This finding implicates the neuroimmune system as a key component of the regenerative response of the mammalian retina. However, little is known about the neuroimmune interface in retinal repair strategies such as endogenous regeneration. My laboratory will seek to better understand the neuroimmune axis during retinal regeneration and to develop immunomodulation strategies to improve the regenerative capacity of the retina. This work is funded by the National Eye Institute’s K99/R00 pathway to independence award.