Researchers at the RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology in Kobe, Japan, began with clusters of about 3,000 mouse embryonic stem cells floating in a mix of chemicals designed to spur differentiation into retinal cells. After a week, several balloon-like sacs of cells began to protrude from the surface of each cluster. Over the next few days, those sacs pouched inward on themselves to form structures resembling the optic cup—the complex dual-layered structure that emerges early in development and eventually becomes the retina.
(..)
The research may also have a more immediate impact on treatments for diseases in which the photoreceptor cells of the eye are damaged or destroyed. Sowden's group has found that transplanting photoreceptor precursors—a type of cell that appears early in development—could restore sight in these cases. But it has been difficult to obtain large numbers of these cells. Because the structures in the new study developed according to a predictable pattern and timeline, Sowden says, they could provide an ideal source of photoreceptor precursors for transplantation.
Sasai also believes the entire inner sheath of the optic cup-like structure—which contains photoreceptor cells arranged in the particular intricate layout that is necessary for sight—could be transplanted. His group has already had some success with this approach in mice, and they hope to have a human version of the system within two years.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment