Study: Transplantation of Eye Photoreceptor 'Precursor' Cells Restores Visual Function in Mice With Retinal Degeneration; University of Michigan and London Team Says Technique Has Implications for Degenerative Eye Diseases.

Byline: University of Michigan Health System

ANN ARBOR, Mich., Nov. 8 (AScribe Newswire) -- Scientists have successfully transplanted light-sensing cells called photoreceptors directly into the eyes of mice and restored their visual function.

The achievement is based on a novel technology in which the cells are introduced at a particular stage in their development. It was carried out at the London Institute of Ophthalmology using a novel approach developed at the University of Michigan Kellogg Eye Center to tag rod precursor cells and prepare them for transplantation.

The team of scientists found that transplanted photoreceptor precursor cells survived and became integrated into the mouse retina - and that the technique succeeded because the cells were isolated when they had reached a certain level of maturity.

Rather than injecting undifferentiated and uncommitted stem cells into the retina in hopes they would develop into photoreceptors, researchers introduced cells at a somewhat later stage. These cells are referred to as "precursors": they are immature cells that are "programmed" to be, but have not yet become, functionally mature photoreceptors-the light-sensitive…