Let's raise our glasses, move them together…
A retinal precursor was grown from embryonic stem cells
(Scientists see new hope for restoring vision with stem cell help). The results of the work of a group of researchers led by Yoshiki Sasai from the Center for Developmental Biology are published in the journal Cell Stem Cell (Nakano et al., Self-Formation of Optic Cups and Storable Stratified Neural Retina from Human ESCs).
During the study, scientists found that human embryonic stem cells can spontaneously form an eye glass – an intermediate structure from which the retina of the eye is formed during the development of the embryo. The eye glass formed from stem cells was two-layered and had the correct spatial structure.
The images from the article in Cell Stem Cell show a layer of pigment cells (retinal pigment epithelium, RPE)
and the neural layer of the retina (neural retina, NR) – VM
One of the layers of the grown tissue contained a large number of photosensitive cells: rods and cones. Since retinal degeneration primarily leads to damage to these cells, such tissue can become an ideal material for transplantation.
The eyeglass grown by Sasai and colleagues from human embryonic stem cells was significantly larger than that obtained from mouse embryonic stem cells.
The authors of the study believe that embryonic stem cells contain "internal instructions" that allow them to differentiate into retinal progenitor cells. "Our work allows us to better understand how the eye develops in a human embryo, and also opens up a new path for the development of regenerative medicine," Sasai said.
Adult stem cells are also used to repair eye tissue. So, Australian scientists have grown a population of stem cells on contact lenses, and used their invention to regenerate the cornea of patients' eyes.
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru15.06.2012