Restored Twilight Vision
Scientists restored vision in dogs with chicken blindness
Researchers have developed a gene therapy that restores twilight vision in dogs with a congenital form of chicken blindness. The discovery may help develop a treatment for a similar disease in humans, according to the University of Pennsylvania (USA). The results are published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (Miyadera et al., Targeting ON-bipolar cells by AAV gene therapy steadily reverses LRIT3-genital stationary night blindness).
Chicken blindness (or twilight vision disorder) is manifested in the fact that the eyes cannot adapt to changes in light. People with this disease cannot distinguish objects at dusk, in the dark, even with artificial lighting. Dogs can also develop a form of chicken blindness, very similar to that found in humans.
In 2019, scientists determined that a mutation in the LRIT3 gene was responsible for the deterioration of twilight vision in dogs. The same gene has been implicated in some cases of chicken blindness in humans. This mutation affects the function of bipolar ON cells, but, unlike some diseases that lead to blindness, with this violation, the overall structure of the retina as a whole remains intact.
In this work, the researchers developed a gene therapy aimed at bipolar ON cells, and with its help they were able to restore twilight vision to dogs with congenital chicken blindness. In dogs that received a single injection, a healthy LRIT3 protein began to be expressed in the retinas of the eyes. As a result, the animals were able to navigate the maze in dim light.
The authors suggest that the restoration of the functional LRIT3 gene allows the transmission of signals from photoreceptor cells to bipolar cells ON. LRIT3 is expressed at the "fingertips" of these cells. The introduction of this gene allows two cells to "shake hands" and communicate again.
Scientists were able to cure adult dogs from chicken blindness – from one to three years. This increases the chances of successful treatment in adulthood, including people.
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