DEF sponsors Retinal Regeneration Program at UCI – An Insurance Policy Against Blindness. -?There is power in numbers ? especially when those numbers include research scientists from some of the best respected institutions in the world. At this time, the Discovery Eye Foundation is a leading partner in one of the most exciting collaborative efforts involving retinal stem cells for regeneration and transplantation.
The Retinal Regeneration Program, more than 80 percent of which is being funded by DEF, engages researchers from leading research institutions such as Harvard, Yale, MIT, the University of Copenhagen, and the University of California, Irvine Eye Institute. Launched at UC Irvine earlier this year, the program has already made tremendous progress in identifying retinal cells capable of regeneration.
?This work holds a real promise for patients suffering vision loss due to macular degeneration,? says DEF Medical Director and Vice Chair for research of the UC Irvine Eye Institute Anthony Nesburn, M.D. ?There is a real urgency to the work being done by the Retinal Regeneration Program. Patients are depending on us. Being a major sponsor of this collaboration opens a new chapter in growth for the Discovery Eye Foundation.?
Nesburn, who watched his father?s vision fail through age-related macular degeneration, has made a personal investment in the program.
?This is an important endeavor in the history of eye research,? he says, ?but I see it as something more. To me, it is an insurance policy against blindness. The work being done today will help thousands see better tomorrow.?
The Retinal Regeneration Program is supported over a dozen donors affiliated with the Discovery Eye Foundation. A large anonymous donation by a patient of noted retinal specialist David Boyer, M.D., a member of the DEF Board of Directors, gave impetus to the program?s launch, and demonstrates the urgency felt by patients in finding a solution for blindness caused by retinal damage and macular degeneration.
Henry Klassen, M.D., Ph.D., who holds a full time research appointment in Ophthalmology, is UCI?s lead scientist in the multi-institutional Retinal Regeneration Program.
One of the challenges researchers face in achieving successful retinal transplantation is the development of a store of useable retinal progenitor (stem) cells.
?Ophthalmology has made huge progress in the treatment of many eye problems,? explains Klassen. ?Surgical and medical procedures have been highly effective in lowering glaucoma pressure. Laser treatments have helped prevent the progression of diabetic retinopathy. What hasn?t happened, however, is our ability to restore or re-grow the cells of the retina when they disintegrate or are damaged.?
Seeking an inroad into the dilemma, Klassen and Michael Young, Ph.D., Schepens Eye Research Institute, Harvard University, have been collaborating on the development of retinal progenitor cells for some time.
?We?ve found that there are stem cells already existing in the retina that can be used to generate or prolong the life of vital retinal cells,? explains Klassen. ?This is a way for sick cells to actually heal themselves.?
There are numerous benefits to using retinal stem cells. First and foremost, the use of stem cells harvested from an ?adult? source, such as the retina, preclude the controversy and funding limitations imposed on fetal stem cell research. Moreover, retinal progenitor cells have a tremendous ability to adapt and integrate into the retina, and, because stem cells have a high degree of immune tolerance, the risk of infection is minimal.
For several years, Klassen and his colleagues have worked to transplant retinal progenitor cells to the eye of a large mammal like the pig. Once transplanted, progress can be followed accurately because the transplanted retinal stem cells come from a ?green pig? whose cells contain a florescent gene that provides an easily readable cellular marker.
Klassen, Young and their team are now working to show that these cells regenerate the retina and restore vision loss in the pig. Once an effective cell-based strategy for retinal repair is established, the multi-institutional team hopes to translate the success to human subjects using human retinal stem cells.
?Things are progressing,? Young adds. ?The work we are doing looks very promising for translational purposes.?
The work is collaborative and multi-disciplinary, with researchers from laboratories around the world working on transplantation, cell regeneration, tissue engineering and drug delivery.
?We?re taking the expertise of all different people and bringing it to bear on this project,? says Klassen. ?No one researcher could do this.?
Klassen?s plans include traveling to Beijing to investigate the work being done in clinical settings.