Cones Derived from Human Stem Cells Help Mice See Again

Good news! Hopefully, we can soon say goodbye to macular degeneration and other eye diseases!

Don't forget to thank or pray for all these guinea pigs (mice), we have used to improve our lives!

"Age-related macular degeneration and other macular diseases result in the loss of light-sensing cone photoreceptors, causing irreversible sight impairment. ... Here, we show restoration of visual function after transplantation of purified human pluripotent stem cell-derived cones into a mouse model of advanced degeneration. Transplanted human cones elaborate nascent outer segments and make putative synapses with recipient murine bipolar cells (BCs), which themselves undergo significant remodeling. Electrophysiological and behavioral assessments demonstrate restoration of surprisingly complex light-evoked retinal ganglion cell responses and improved light-evoked behaviors in treated animals. ..."

Cones Derived from Human Stem Cells Help Mice See: Study | The Scientist Magazine® Researchers insert functioning cone photoreceptors into the retinas of mice with advanced eye disease, improving their vision.

Here is the link to the underlying research article:

Restoration of visual function in advanced disease after transplantation of purified human pluripotent stem cell-derived cone photoreceptors (open access)