Share One of the most exciting avenues of research for macular degeneration involves the use of the stem cells to treat vision loss.  Researchers at the University of California, Irvine, have made important progress towards this goal. In the online Journal of Neuroscience Methods, they report that they have created an eight-layer, early stage retina from human embryonic stem cells. 

Early Stage Retina from Embryonic Stem Cells

"We made a complex structure consisting of many cell types," said study leader Hans Keirstead of the Reeve-Irvine Research Center and the Sue & Bill Gross Stem Cell Research Center at UCI. "This is a major advance in our quest to treat retinal disease."

The Keirstead team utilized the differentiation technique to create the multiple cell types necessary for the retina. “What’s so exciting with our discovery,” Keirstead said, “is that creating transplantable retinas from stem cells could help millions of people, and we are well on the way.”

The UCI researchers are testing the early-stage retinas in animal models to learn how much they improve vision. Positive results would lead to human clinical trials.

Using the Human Retina for Repair

Also at UCI, Discovery Eye Foundation scientists are working on another approach to repair the damage from macular degeneration and other diseases.  The human retina contains it's own stem cells.  These "progenitor cells" can be instructed to develop into other retinal cells. 

Henry Klassen, M.D., Ph.D., who holds a full time research appointment in Ophthalmology, is UCI’s lead scientist in the multi-institutional Retinal Regeneration Program. Klassen and Michael Young, Ph.D., Schepens Eye Research Institute, Harvard University, have been collaborating on the development of retinal progenitor cells for some time.

“We’ve found that there are stem cells already existing in the retina that can be used to generate or prolong the life of vital retinal cells,” explains Klassen. “This is a way for sick cells to actually heal themselves.”

There are numerous benefits to using retinal stem cells. First and foremost, the use of stem cells harvested from an “adult” source, such as the retina, preclude the controversy and funding limitations imposed on fetal stem cell research. Moreover, retinal progenitor cells have a tremendous ability to adapt and integrate into the retina, and, because stem cells have a high degree of immune tolerance, the risk of infection is minimal.

“Things are progressing,” Young adds. “The work we are doing looks very promising for translational purposes.”

The work is collaborative and multi-disciplinary, with researchers from laboratories around the world working on transplantation, cell regeneration, tissue engineering and drug delivery.

“We’re taking the expertise of all different people and bringing it to bear on this project,” says Klassen. “No one researcher could do this.”