In the June 18th online edition of Experimental Hematology, Y. Liu et al from the Univ. of Louisville Health Science Ctr. reported their ability to isolate and differentiate very small embryonic-like stem (VSEL) cells from the retina of neonatal mice. These VSEL cells were isolated by cell sorting from retina of neonatal mice. They were Sca-1+, Lin-, CD45- as well as being multipotent in their potential to differentiate into all three germ lineages in vitro. The VSEL cells were also found to comprise 1.5% of the cells in the neonatal retina. However, the researchers found that since the VSEL cells are quiescent they did not contribute to normal retinal development. Additionally, under appropriate culture conditions, the cells had the potential to differentiate into different cellular phenotypes in the eye.