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Transplanted human stem cells prevented vision loss in rat retinal disease model
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Transplanted human neuronal progenitor cells had a protective effect on vision in an experimental rat model of retinal degeneration, a team of researchers found.
David Gamm, MD, PhD, of the University of Michigan, and colleagues injected human neural progenitor cells (hNPCs) subretinally into rats at an age just preceding major photoreceptor loss. At 90 to 100 days postnatal, investigators found that hNPC-treated eyes retained retinal electrical activity and visual field. They also had near-normal visual acuity, according to the study.
"Functional efficacy was further enhanced when hNPCs were genetically engineered to secrete glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor," the authors said.
At 150 days postnatal, histological examinations showed that hNPCs had formed a nearly continuous pigmented layer between the retina and retinal pigment epithelium. The pigmented layer was also distributed within the inner retina, the authors reported. "These results underscore the potential therapeutic utility of hNPC in the treatment of retinal degenerative diseases and suggest potential mechanisms underlying their effect in vivo," the authors said.
The study is published online in the journal Public Library of Science One.