Figure 5From: Adult ciliary epithelial stem cells generate functional neurons and differentiate into both early and late born retinal neurons under non-cell autonomous influencesCells in CE neurospheres activate rod photoreceptor-specific regulatory gene expression. CE neurospheres were cultured in the presence of PN1CM for 20 days and rod photoreceptor regulatory gene expression [42] was examined (A). Q-PCR analysis revealed a temporal increase in levels of genes corresponding to the regulators of rod differentiation (Crx, Nrl, and Nr2e3) and maturation (Rhodopsin kinase, Rhodopsin, Gnat1, Phosducin, Recoverin, and Arrestin) in differentiation conditions, compared to controls (B). C = control (CE untreated cells).Back to article page