Lab-Grown Eye Cells Offer Way to Protect Vision
The research opens possibilities for studying eye disease and developing potential treatments
The retina depends on a highly specialized network of blood vessel cells that tightly regulates what enters and leaves the tissue. When that system fails, serious eye diseases can develop, including conditions that lead to vision loss. Scientists have long studied these cells but obtaining enough of them for research and to develop potential treatments has been difficult and expensive.
The Duke team developed a method to produce a steady supply of these retinal cells in the laboratory. After creating them, the researchers tested whether they behaved like the real thing. In laboratory experiments, the cells formed the same kinds of networks seen in healthy retinal tissue. When exposed to conditions that mimic diseases such as diabetic retinopathy — when low oxygen levels and high blood sugar damages blood vessels in the retina — the lab-grown tissue responded in ways similar to what doctors see in patients.
“Using human stem cells, we generated the cells found in retinal blood vessels, paving the way for new therapeutic approaches,” said Sharon Gerecht, the Paul M. Gross Distinguished Professor and Chair of Biomedical Engineering at Duke.
The most encouraging results came from studies in mice with damaged retinal blood vessels. When the lab-grown human cells were introduced before severe vision problems developed, they integrated into the existing tissue, helped rebuild healthier blood vessels, and restored retinal function.
The research opens new possibilities for studying eye disease, testing treatments and, one day, developing therapies.
To learn more about the research, visit the Pratt School of Engineering.