Successful transplantation of retinal cells in rats

A study by an international team of researchers shows vision can be successfully preserved in rats that go blind in the first months of life.

Researchers working at the University of Utah's Moran Eye Centre in collaboration with the Institute of Ophthalmology in London and the University of Sheffield, UK, transplanted human retinal pigment epithelial cell line into rats born with a genetic predisposition to retinal degeneration and sight loss.

Following the surgery, researchers found that the transplanted cells survived in the rats and also preserved the rats' ability to see, according to Raymond Lund, professor of ophthalmology and visual sciences at the University of Utah's Moran Eye Centre in Salt Lake City.

"This study is a major step forward toward the goal of preserving vision in patients suffering from retinal degeneration," said Lund. "Our research demonstrates that it is possible to preserve vision by transplanting a human cell line into the eyes of animals with similar retinal degeneration to humans.

In essence, a rat that would have been blind was able to discriminate patterns as well as a rat with normal vision." He says the research also demonstrates that the analytical processes in a rat's brain that allow it to see remain intact following transplant.

The next step, says Lund, is figuring out how to translate the research into treatment for people with retinal diseases. "This next step is much more complex. However, the idea of using a human cell line in these rats is to prepare the way for limited human trials in the next three to four years," said Lund.