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‘Signaling protein’ may control retinal development

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IRVINE, Calif. — Stem cell-based therapies for the treatment of retinal degeneration may be closer to reality than previously thought, said a group of researchers at the University of California, Irvine.

According to a press release from the university, the researchers found the molecular mechanism that may allow such treatments while investigating a protein that organizes retinal development.

Ann L. Calof and colleagues identified the GDF11 protein as controlling a key component of retinal-cell differentiation during cell development, the release stated.

They found that the GDF11 protein precisely controlled the “window of opportunity” in mice in which retinal precursor cells differentiate into the cells that give rise to the optic nerve. The regulation is important, the release said, because it assures proper development of the entire retina. GDF11 is part of a “superfamily” of proteins called TGF-beta.

“The ultimate goal is to control how GDF11 and related proteins regulate the window of opportunity for neural cell growth,” Ms. Calof said in the press release.

The study is published in the June 24 issue of Science.