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Johns Hopkins researchers create retinal ganglion cells
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Researchers at Johns Hopkins have developed a method to turn human stem cells into retinal ganglion cells, according to a press release.
Researchers genetically modified a line of human embryonic stem cells to become fluorescent upon their differentiation to retinal ganglion cells and used that cell line to develop new differentiation methods and characterization of the resulting cells, according to the release.
Investigators inserted a fluorescent protein gene into the stem cells’ DNA. Once a cell differentiated into a retinal ganglion cell, it appeared red under microscope.
They used a technique called florescence-activated cell sorting to separate out the newly differentiated retinal ganglion cells from a mixture of different cells into a highly purified cell population for study.
“Our work could lead not only to a better understanding of the biology of the optic nerve, but also to a cell-based human model that could be used to discover drugs that stop or treat blinding conditions,” Donald Zack, MD, PhD, study leader and professor at John Hopkins University School of Medicine, said in the release. “Eventually it could lead to the development of cell transplant therapies that restore vision in patients with glaucoma and multiple sclerosis.”