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Madison, Wisconsin — New research from the University of Wisconsin-Madison could be a gateway to blindness treatment.
More than a decade ago, researchers at UW-Madison developed a method to grow organized clusters of cells that mimic the retina (the “light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye”). Retinal cells sense light and send what they see to the brain.
David Gamm’s lab developed these clusters. He is Professor of Ophthalmology at UW-Madison and Director of the McPherson Eye Research Institute. Throughout 2022, Gamm, along with his UW-Madison researchers, will show that lab-grown retinal cells respond like healthy, natural retinas to light of varying wavelengths and intensities. discovered.
“I wanted to use those cells. [cell clusters] “However, after several months of growth in laboratory dishes as compact clusters, the question remained: After dissociating the cells, they could be used as replacement parts for the same type of cells that were lost during the course of retinal disease.” Do they work properly? Because that’s the key to getting them into the patient’s eyes.”
The current research team at UW-Madison has broken down these organized cell clusters into single cells. Individual retinal cells were able to connect to neighboring cells.
Cells have the ability to “shake hands” with other cell types and can communicate with other parts of the body. The researchers believe this means that retinal cells grown from stem cells are “ready for testing in humans with degenerative eye disease.”
Retinal cells communicate with the brain through synapses. The researchers needed to determine whether lab-grown retinal cells could do this. Rabies virus traveled across synapses and infected multiple neighboring cells.
“We’ve been quilting this story piece by piece together in the lab to build confidence that we’re headed in the right direction,” says Gamm. “Ultimately, it all leads to the next clear step: human clinical trials.”
After the synaptic connections were identified, researchers analyzed the cells themselves. Researchers said the cells most likely to form synapses are photoreceptors. Photoreceptors are cells lost in eye diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa, age-related macular degeneration, and some eye injuries. The second most common cell type capable of forming synapses was the retinal ganglion cell. Retinal ganglion cells ‘degenerate in optic neuropathy’ [such as] Glaucoma. ”
“It was an important revelation for us,” Gumm said. “This really shows that these retinas can have a wide range of effects. [cell clusters] could have had
The study could be a gateway to cell-replacement clinical trials that could potentially treat people who are or have lost their sight.
You can read the full study, published Wednesday, here.
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