Age-dependent changes in the capacity of transdifferentiation of retinal pigment cells as revealed in clonal cell culture

Abstract

Changes in the capacity of transdifferentiation of retinal pigment cells into lens cells with developmental age were examined by culturing cells obtained from chicks at various developmental stages ranging from 5-day-old embryos to 1-year-old adults. Secondary clonal cultures were prepared from pigment cells harvested from primary cultures of the cells dissociated from the material at different ages. The percentage of colony formation to the total number of inoculated cells, of colonies with lens differentiation, and of colonies with the differentiation of pigment cells were obtained in cultures of the material derived from the donors at different ages. The total clonal efficiency did not alter with age. Colonies with lens cells appeared only in cultures started from embryos of less than 15 days. The percentage in the formation of pigmented colonies decreased with the age of the donor. Cells of post-hatching chicks produced only unidentifiable colonies without lens and pigment cells. The results indicate that determination of retinal cells alters with age.