Overview of retinal differentiation potential of mesenchymal stem cells: A promising approach for retinal cell therapy

Retinal disease caused by retinal cell apoptosis leads to irreversible vision loss. Stem cell investigation efforts have been made to solve and cure retinal disorders. There are several sources of stem cells which have been used in these experiments. Numerous studies demonstrated that transplanted stem cells can migrate into and integrate in different layers of retina. Among these, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) were considered a promising source for cell therapy. Here, we review the literature assessing the potential of MSCs to differentiate into retinal cells in vivo and in vitro as well as their clinical application. However, more investigation is required to define the protocols that optimize stem cell differentiation and their functional integration in the retina.