Scientists in Los Angeles have reported devising a new way to generate transplantable corneal stem cells for patients with blindness.
Researchers in the Cedars-Sinai Board of Governors Regenerative Medicine Institute said they had used human corneal cells to generate pluripotent stem cells with the capacity to become ‘virtually any body cell’.
Researcher's facilitated differentiation of these stem cells back to corneal cells using natural scaffolds.
‘Our research shows that cells derived from corneal stem cells are attractive candidates for generating corneal cells in the laboratory,’ said Alexander Ljubimov, director of the Eye Program at the Board of Governors Regenerative Medicine Institute.
The research, which had the potential to benefit patients suffering from many forms of corneal blindness, was published in the journal Stem Cells Translational Medicine.
More than 3 million individuals worldwide were affected by corneal blindness, researchers added.