Stem cells discovery offers hope to the blind

Published on Monday 24 August 2009 22:01

SCIENTISTS have transformed human skin cells into early versions of the eye cells that generate vision.

The research raises the future prospect of restoring sight to the blind with stem cell treatments.

A US team used as raw material for the study human skin cells that were genetically "reprogrammed" to possess the same properties as embryonic stem cells.

Known as induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, they have the potential to develop into virtually every kind of tissue in the body. Stem cells extracted from immature embryos have the same ability.

By exposing the iPS cells to a specific cocktail of chemicals, the scientists caused them to grow into partially developed retina cells – the light-sensitive cells at the back of the eye which transmit nerve signals to the brain. Similar results were achieved when the same technique was applied to genuine embryonic stem cells.

Although the work is at a very early stage, it paves the way to treatments that allow retinas to be repaired with cells grown from a patient's own skin.

In the more immediate future scientists could use the cultivated cells to study genetically-linked eye disorders, or screen new drugs for retina conditions.

In previous research, scientists have succeeded in restoring vision to blind mice by repairing their retinas with stem cells.