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Saturday, November 20, 2004
Stem Cells Successfully Transplanted in Mice With RD
In a study conducted at the Schepens Eye Research Institute in the US, retinal stem cells taken from healthy mice were transplanted into the retinas of mice with retinal degeneration. The stem cells developed into retinal cells. Another positive outcome of the transplantation was that already dying cone cells appeared to "regain or retain their function."
The research appears in the November 2004 issue of Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science. The abstract is freely available online (Multipotent Retinal Progenitors Express Developmental Markers, Differentiate into Retinal Neurons, and Preserve Light-Mediated Behavior,' Klassen, H. and others, Volume 45, pp 4167-4173).
To test whether the mice with transplanted stem cells could see better, the team then placed them and the control mice (without the transplants or with non-stem cell transplants) in dark cages and flashed a series of increasingly lower level lights at both groups over a period of time. Mice are photophobic and stop their normal activity when they detect light. The researchers took advantage of this natural response and found that the mice with the transplanted tissue continued to respond to the light as it reached the lowest levels. The control mice did not.
'Study shows stem cells can preserve vision,' Schepens Eye Research Insitute public relations release at EurekAlert, 18 November 2004.
The research appears in the November 2004 issue of Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science. The abstract is freely available online (Multipotent Retinal Progenitors Express Developmental Markers, Differentiate into Retinal Neurons, and Preserve Light-Mediated Behavior,' Klassen, H. and others, Volume 45, pp 4167-4173).
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