Part of the Retina May Have the Potential for Self Repair
April 27, 2012 - Could a retina damaged by a degenerative disease be coaxed into healing itself, thus preventing further vision loss? A new discovery opens the door to that possibility.
Collaborating researchers from the Neural Stem Cell Institute, the University of Michigan and Albany Medical College recently found that about 10 percent of the cells in the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), a layer of tissue that supports photoreceptors, have the ability to self renew. They are, in essence, dormant RPE stem cells that can be prodded to become mature RPE cells.
In many retinal diseases, including age-related macular degeneration, Stargardt disease, Best disease, and some forms of retinitis pigmentosa, degeneration begins in the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), a layer of tissue that supports photoreceptors, the cells that make vision possible. Because the RPE plays a critical role in supporting and maintaining photoreceptors, loss of RPE ultimately leads to loss of photoreceptors and vision.
The researchers hope, in the future, to use donor RPE stem cells to either develop new mature RPE for transplantation to replace diseased tissue, or, better yet, activate the dormant cells for self renewal within the retinas of people affected by disease.
In their recent study, the researchers stimulated human donor RPE stem cells in a dish to get them to mature. They noted that cells from a 99-year-old donor matured as well as cells obtained from younger donors.
The researchers note that RPE stem cells can also be used to study and model retinal diseases in a dish.
Results of the study were published on January 6, 2012, in the journal Cell Stem Cell.
The research team included Drs. Enrique Salero, Tim Blenkinsop, Barbara Corneo, Jeffrey Stern and Sally Temple, all of whom are with the Neural Stem Cell Institute. |
