Transplanted photoreceptor precursor cells restore visual function in mice with retinal degeneration
...potential for developing therapies for people with retinal and macular degenerative diseases that are untreat...ansplanted into three different types of mice with retinal degeneration caused by distinct genetic defects involving malfunctioning or degenerating rods. The t...The National Academies' Distinguished Speaker Series runs Jan. 17-March 21, 2007
...al techniques being used to implant an intraocular retinal prosthesis, which assumes the role that disease-damaged cells in the retina can no longer perform. Humayun has made new discoveries about the effects of eye diseases like retinitis pigmentosa and age-related macular degeneration, and his work is res...Unfolded proteins may protect cells from dying
...t the unfolded protein response initially protects retinal cells from death in the fly model of ADRP, the cells eventually die, leading to blindness. How the cell death pathway becomes activated is still a mystery, and Steller makes the point that although blocking cell death is a worthwhile therapeutic stra...Joslin discovers protein that causes blood vessel leakage and swelling with diabetic retinopathy
... that one of these molecules causes the leakage of retinal blood vessels, which contributes to the retinal swelling (diabetic macular edema or DME) that is often associated with advanced diabetic retinopathy...Central and peripheral signals set the circadian liver clock
... dark were used to. We perceive light cues through retinal photoreceptors that relay signals to the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) in the brain. "Phase adjustments" in peripheral tissues ensure that each clock follows the same schedule. These can be set indirectly through SCN-dependent biological rhythms, suc...JDRF-funded researchers discover protein that causes blood vessel leakage and swelling in eyes
... that one of these molecules causes the leakage of retinal blood vessels, which contributes to the retinal swelling (or diabetic macular edema) often associated with advanced diabetic retinopathy. Their fin...BioMed Central announces winners of first open access research awards
... for his article, "Polarization and orientation of retinal ganglion cells in vivo." The research, which used ...-dimensional microscopy to observe the behavior of retinal ganglion cells when differentiating in wild-type or mutant embryos, first appeared in one of BioMed ...U-M team: Genetic testing sheds light on degenerative eye disease
...sease is providing vital information about complex retinal diseases, especially when used to confirm a clinic...gnosis. These results are significant because many retinal diseases present similar symptoms, and it is sometimes difficult for even the most skilled specialis...News tips from the Journal of Neuroscience
...sis. The authors induced apoptosis in cultured rat retinal ganglion cells by removing trophic factors from the media. Glia-conditioned media or glia-secreted lipoproteins protected neurons from apoptosis. Protection specifically required apoE and was blocked either by receptor-associate protein, which compet...News tips from the Journal of Neuroscience
...n their favorite presynaptic cells, Xenopus laevis retinal ganglion cells (RGCs). GFPTrkB.T1 did not disrupt axon pathfinding to the tectum. However, time-lapse confocal microscopy in vivo revealed abnormal features in RGCs, including axons with immature growth cone-like morphology, reduced branching, incr...Transport interrupted -- Texas A&M biologists trace cause of early blindness to tissue defect
...n choroideremia, an X chromosome-linked hereditary retinal degenerative disease that leads to blindness in an...ceptors as well as a neighboring tissue called the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE). In collaboration with the University of Western Kentuckys Joseph Bilotta, ...Gene therapy for blindness clears hurdle in mice
...dicine. "We work with rhodopsin, which is the main retinal protein. Without it, or if it is mutated, people simply wont see." Mutated forms of the rhodopsin produce a toxic protein in the retina that kills cells that receive light. People with the disease usually notice symptoms between the ages of 10 and ...Stem cell therapy shows promise for rescuing deteriorating vision
...ose vision would typically be lost to degenerative retinal disease, the cells were shown to protect vision an...vision. "On their own, they were able to support retinal cells and keep them alive," says Lund, who has conducted pioneering studies of cell therapy for eye ...New way to catch cancer's spread, rapid 3-D retinal imaging, more at CLEO/QELS 2007
...high-resolution 3-D images of the retina. The 3-D retinal imaging is performed with an emerging method calle...g) make it difficult to perform 3-D imaging of the retinal volume. Robert Huber (now at the Ludwig Maximilians University in Germany) and colleagues at MIT h...Scientists identify key to integrating transplanted nerve cells into injured tissue
...ce, holds great promise not only for patients with retinal disease, but for those suffering from spinal cord ...e study. "We believe that it will ultimately make retinal transplantation and restoration of vision a possibility." He adds that transplantation of donor pho...In new statistical approach, data decide model
...orms, to study differential gene expression of the retinal development in zebra fish, and to explore the effect of histone modifications on gene transcription rates in yeast....UC Irvine awarded $3.9 million to upgrade stem cell research facilities, training
...iple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, heart disease, retinal disease, and Alzheimers and Huntingtons diseases. With CIRM funding, UCI plans to create more laboratory research space and purchase new equipment designed to genetically modify and analyze stem cells, as well as equipment to isolate specialized ce...'Lucky 13' as new gene discovery offers further hope for childhood blindness
... the retina. Protein transport is essential within retinal photoreceptor cells as they are long, thin cells w...s being tested are specific for different kinds of retinal degeneration. All in all its an exciting time for eye research and a very promising one for people w...News tips from the Journal of Neuroscience
...ous consequence of ClC-2 loss, presumably from the retinal damage described previously in these mice. However, neurons appeared normal, and there was no effect on seizure threshold. The pattern of white matter injury suggests that ClC-2 is involved in extracellular ion homeostasis in oligodendrocytes. ......the growing ("plus") ends of microtubules in human retinal epithelial cells with a fluorescent molecule, videotaped their growth and carefully followed the tracks back to their origin. "We show that not only the centrosome, but the Golgi also makes microtubules," Kaverina said. "And unlike centrosomal mic...