Platelet-Activating Factor Receptor (PAFR) Regulates Retinal Progenitor/Stem Cells Profile in Ciliary Epithelium Cells

Abstract

The retina is a central nervous tissue essential to visual perception and highly susceptible to environmental damage. Lower vertebrate retinas activate intrinsic regeneration mechanisms in response to retinal injury regulated by a specialized population of progenitor cells. The mammalian retina does not have populations of progenitor/stem cells available to activate regeneration, but contains a subpopulation of differentiated cells that can be reprogrammed into retinal stem cells, the ciliary epithelium (CE) cells. Despite the regenerative potential, stem cells derived from CE exhibit limited reprogramming capacity probably associated with the expression of intrinsic regulatory mechanisms. Platelet-activating factor (PAF) is a lipid mediator widely expressed in many cells and plays an important role in stem cell proliferation and differentiation. During mammalian development, PAF receptor signaling showed important effects on retinal progenitors’ cell cycle regulation and neuronal differentiation that need to be further investigated. In this study, our findings suggested a dynamic role for PAF receptor signaling in CE cells, impacting stem cell characteristics and neurosphere formation. We showed that PAF receptors and PAF-related enzymes are downregulated in retinal progenitor/stem cells derived from PE cells. Blocking PAFR activity using antagonists increased the expression of specific progenitor markers, revealing potential implications for retinal tissue development and maintenance.