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Researchers identify cells linked to genetic blindness

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Researchers at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have confirmed 19 cis-regulatory elements in the photoreceptor cells of the eye, more than doubling the number known to scientists. Their research could potentially treat more than 200 forms of inherited blindness, according to a press release from the university.

Senior author Joseph Corbo, MD, PhD, and colleagues performed a computational analysis of DNA to identify the elements, which are understood to switch blindness genes on and off.

"This result is significant because the number of cis-regulatory elements previously available for gene therapy was quite limited," Dr. Corbo said in the release. "If anything goes wrong in these cells, they're going down the tubes. That's why there are so many inherited forms of blindness linked to degeneration of photoreceptors."

Based on the results of the study, Dr. Corbo is currently designing gene therapy vectors for a form of Leber's congenital amaurosis, the release said.

The study is published online on the Public Library of Science ONE Web site.