Regenerative capacity of the anuran eye

Abstract

Abstract Present knowledge of the regenerative capacity of the anuran eye has been synthesized. Regenerative capacity is very low in the adult eye and takes place at retinal and optic nerve level: there is no lens regeneration. In the larval eye, the retina and optic nerve can regenerate. On the other hand, lens regeneration, which has been tested in several anuran species, has so far been demonstrated only in Xenopus laevis. In this species, the lens regenerates from the outer cornea. This territory and the surrounding epidermis display a high degree of lens-forming competence whenever they are reached by a factor(s) present in the vitreous chamber. In a normal eye the factor(s) cannot reach the outer cornea as the latter is separated from the vitreous chamber by two mechanical barriers: the inner cornea and the lens. The phenotypic stability of the outer cornea is thereby ensured. The factor(s) present in the vitreous chamber and responsible for the lens-forming transformation of the outer cornea and pe...