Scientists have turned skin cells into the light-sensing cells of the eye

This method, which uses a handful of small molecule drugs, is a time-saver compared to stem cell therapy


Claudia Lopez-Lloreda

Neuroscience

University of Pennsylvania

June 12, 2020

The eye is one of the most complicated organs of the human body. At the heart of this visual system is the retina, a complex mix of cells and layers that allow the eye to capture every detail in our field of vision.

Damage to the retina can have serious consequences and lead to retinal diseases. Even cutting edge medicine like cell therapy can be laborious and consume time that patients don’t have. For this reason, scientists at the North Texas Eye Research Institute came up with an easy and quick way to repair the retina damaged in eye diseases by using just a handful of chemicals to generate cells that can restore visual function.

A common cause of vision loss in people over 60 is macular degeneration, where light-sensing cells in the retina, called photoreceptors, degrade. Historically, doctors have tried to treat retinal diseases with medications or laser surgery. Recently though, scientists developed stem cell therapy, the process of replacing lost or damaged cells with new, healthy ones. To replenish these cells, scientists change cells from one type to another using specific proteins called “Yamanaka factors.”

Yamanaka factors revolutionized the field of stem cell therapy. They can “reprogram” or turn cells that are already specialized, such as heart cells or immune cells, back into a general cell type called pluripotent stem cells. These can then in turn transform into different types of cells, including the photoreceptors lost in eye diseases.

More:
https://massivesci.com/articles/macular-degeneration-stem-cell-therapy-eyes-vision/