Mouse stem cells form optic cup

Embryonic stem (ES) cells have been used to form an optic cup as part of a study that raises the prospect of creating tissues to treat blindness.

In a report published in the journal Nature, a team of Japanese scientists described how mouse embryonic stem cells were used to generate the cup-like area in the centre of the optic disc that forms the retina.

According to Professor Yoshiki Sasai, one of the team conducting the research, potential applications include regenerative medicine approaches to the treatment of degenerative disorders such as retinitis pigmentosa.

'What we've been able to do in this study is resolve a nearly century-old problem in embryology, by showing that retinal precursors have the inherent ability to give rise to the complex structure of the optic cup,' he said. 'It's exciting to think that we are now well on the way to becoming able to generate not only differentiated cell types, but organised tissues from ES and iPS (induced pluripotent stem) cells, which may open new avenues toward applications in regenerative medicine.'