The present invention relates to a retinal pigment epithelial stem cellisolated from a posterior region of the retinalpigment epithelium of an adult mammal. The invention also relates to a methodof inducing differentiation of retinal epithelialstem and progenitor cells in vitro, wherein the cells of the invention arehighly plastic, multipotential stem cells. The inventionalso includes methods for the treatment of retinal diseases and vision lossinvolving the transplantation of retinal pigmentepithe-lial stem cells or cells differentiated from retinal pigment epithelialstem cells to the retina of a patient in need of treatment.
