"Scientists Restore Sight In Mice And Look Ahead To Human Vision" - Paul Basilio
A team of researchers has reversed congenital blindness in mice by changing supportive cells in the retina—called Müller glia—into rod photoreceptors. Their findings, which are published in Nature, advance efforts toward regenerative therapies for blinding diseases in humans such as age-related macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa. “From a practical standpoint, if you’re trying to regenerate the retina to restore a person’s vision, it is counterproductive to injure it first to activate the Müller glia,” said lead investigator of the study, Bo Chen, PhD, associate professor of ophthalmology and director of the Ocular Stem Cell Program at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Dr. Chen added: “We wanted to see if we could program Müller glia to become rod photoreceptors in a living mouse without having to injure its retina.” As for humans, Dr. Chen and his team have plans that include investigating whether the technique will work on cultured human retinal tissue. Much more work will need to be done in the meantime, including in animals with eyes more similar to ours.
- Bo Chen, PhD, Associate Professor, Ophthalmology, Director, Ocular Stem Cell Program, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai