Scientists in South Korea believe they may have found a novel new method to restore sight in humans.
Researchers from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology made the claim after recently finding promising results in experiments with mice, particularly because mice are also mammals and share similar traits to humans.
Their results are detailed in a Nature Communications study.
Previous studies have shown that animals have the remarkable ability to regrow retinal cells.
That includes the zebrafish which, after an injury, can reprogram their Müller glial cells, whose role is to maintain the functionality of retinal cells, to eventually specialise as various neural cell types. These new cells effectively replace the damaged cells with functional retinal neurons.
In its research, the Korea Institute’s team suppressed a protein called PROX1, which inhibits the development of different retinal cell types in mammals.
They found that PROX1 tended to accumulate in mouse Müller glial cells, which act as support cells for retinal neurons, after an injury. This inhibiting process didn’t occur in the same cells of fish with known retinal regenerative abilities.
By blocking PROX1, and so preventing the suppression of new retinal cells, the team saw retinal regeneration in mice with retinitis pigmentosa, a disease that occurs when photoreceptors in the retina deteriorate.
The effects of the regeneration lasted for six months, allowing the scientists to declare that this was “first successful induction of long-term neural regeneration in mammalian retinas”.
The research supports previous studies into retinal regeneration.
More reading
Glaucoma’s toxic relationship with mental health
Polyactiva results for PolyActiva biodegradable implant for glaucoma
Dr Elvis Ojaimi first to implant telescopic lens at Epworth Freemasons, Melbourne
