Eye regeneration technique lets blind mice see the light

A team of researchers is trying to “wake up the self-repair mechanisms” in the eye to repair damage in some vision cells.

This method could be less problematic than the use of stem cells to regenerate vision cells.

Cone receptors give us the ability to see during the day and to perceive colours.

Rod receptors allow us to see when there is low light.

This research team has been able to improve rod signalling.

Going forward the scientists will work to improve the density of rod cell growth using other genes and hope to start experiments with human cells. Source. 

 

Journal Reference:

Kai Yao, Suo Qiu, Yanbin V. Wang, Silvia J. H. Park, Ethan J. Mohns, Bhupesh Mehta, Xinran Liu, Bo Chang, David Zenisek, Michael C. Crair, Jonathan B. Demb & Bo Chen. Restoration of vision after de novo genesis of rod photoreceptors in mammalian retinas. Nature 560, 484–488 (2018). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-018-0425-3