Salvation from blindness?
The safety and effectiveness of retinal transplantation from a donor has been proven
Svetlana Maslova, Hi-tech+
The results of the scientists' experiment are an important achievement in the treatment of blindness, which affects about 200 million people, as well as progressive retinal diseases. The transplanted cells showed good engraftment and functionality. Now the authors hope to launch clinical trials that will pave the way for the treatment of a huge number of patients.
Age–related macular degeneration is the most common cause of irreversible vision loss, which is often diagnosed too late, which is why the disease quickly progresses to blindness.
An international group of researchers presented the results of an experiment on the transplantation of retinal stem cells from a deceased adult to primates. These cells were supposed to restore the retinal pigment epithelium, which serves as a barrier and regulator for maintaining normal vision.
Article by Liu et al. Surgical Transplantation of Human RPE Stem Cell-Derived RPE Monolayers into Non-Human Primates with Immunosuppression is published in the journal Stem Cell Reports, a press release Scientists Take Important Step Towards Using Retinal Cell Transplants to Treat Blindness – on the Mount Sinai website.
The team transplanted cells into the central part of the retina – the area of the macula of the eye – and began to observe their engraftment and changes in the function of the animals' vision. Observations showed that the cells remained stable and well integrated for at least three months without serious side effects such as immune attack or photosensitivity. They partially assumed the function of the pigment epithelium, and could also support the work of photoreceptors.
"We see that human biomaterial was able to partially replace the function of the macula in primates and therefore they can be a promising source for restoring vision in people with retinal pathologies," commented co–author Timothy Blenkinsop.
According to the team, donor transplantation is safe and the results add arguments in favor of conducting clinical trials.
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