Scientists have discovered a way to create eye tissue using stem cells and 3D printing. This is new research that may lead to breakthroughs in the treatment of various degenerative eye diseases.
Researchers at the National Eye Institute (NEI), part of the National Institutes of Health, have printed combinations of cells that form the blood extraretinal barrier, the eye tissue that supports light-sensing photoreceptors in the retina. did.
Their technology provides a theoretically unlimited supply of patient-derived tissues to study degenerative retinal diseases such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and use them to treat or cure these diseases. better understand how to
“We know AMD starts at the outer blood-retinal barrier,” said Dr. Kapil Bharti, who leads the NEI Section on Eye and Stem Cell Translational Research.
Scientists have found a way to create eye tissue — new research could lead to breakthrough in treating various degenerative eye diseases
“However, the mechanisms of AMD initiation and progression to advanced dry and wet stages are poorly understood due to the lack of physiologically relevant human models,” he explained. statement.
The blood-retinal barrier outside the eye consists of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) separated from the choriocapillaris by Bruch’s membrane. Membranes regulate how nutrients and wastes move between the RPE and choriocapillaris.
Lipoprotein deposits called drusen form on the outside of Bruch’s membrane in AMD patients and prevent it from functioning properly.
Nearly 20 million Americans suffer from some form of age-related macular degeneration. It is the leading cause of blindness in Americans over the age of 60. It is also the leading cause of irreversible blindness and blindness worldwide.
Co-author Marc Ferrer, director of the 3D Tissue Bioprinting Laboratory at NIH’s National Center for Advanceal Translational Sciences, said:
“Such tissue models have many potential uses in translational applications, including therapeutics development.”
Bharti et al. combined three immature choroidal cell types in a hydrogel. Pericytes and endothelial cells are important components of capillaries. Fibroblasts that give tissue structure.
We then printed the gel on a biodegradable scaffold and within days the cells began to mature into dense capillary networks.
By day 9, scientists had seeded the opposite side of the scaffold with retinal pigment epithelial cells. Just a month after that, the organization was fully mature.
The outer blood-retinal barrier is the interface between the retina and the choroid that includes Bruch’s membrane and choroidal capillaries.
According to the researchers’ analysis and testing, the printed tissue looked and behaved similarly to the native external blood-retinal barrier.
Under the induced stress, the printed tissue showed patterns of early AMD, such as drusen deposits under the RPE and progression to late dry AMD.
“By printing the cells, we are facilitating the exchange of cellular cues required for normal outer blood-retinal barrier anatomy,” Bharti explains.
“For example, the presence of RPE cells induces gene expression changes in fibroblasts that contribute to the formation of Bruch’s membrane. This was suggested many years ago but was not proven until our model.” I didn’t.”
Scientists today announced the results of their research nature’s way.
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