For glaucoma patients, the idea of reversing glaucoma and improving vision can not come soon enough—and researchers are striving to make this a reality. Scientists from Harvard Medical School (HMS) conducted research on mice to find out if injecting them with specific genetic material can change vision performance and/or improve glaucoma. The results were published in Nature in December 2020. 

Discover more about what these scientists did, what they found, and what it could mean for glaucoma patients in the future.* 

What they did

The HMS scientists created a vehicle to deliver into the mice’s retinas, called adeno-associated virus (AAV). AAV contained three youth-restoring genes (Oct4, Sox2, and Klf4), which are normally switched on during embryonic development before birth. The scientists theorized that these genes may get turned off during the aging process, which results in impaired function of the body’s cells and tissues. 

What they found

The treatment showed multiple benefits to the mice, including:

• Promoted nerve regeneration in mice with damaged or injured optic nerves
• Reversed vision loss in animals with a condition mimicking human glaucoma
• Reversed vision loss in aging animals without glaucoma

What it means

“Our study demonstrates that it’s possible to safely reverse the age of complex tissues such as the retina and restore its youthful biological function,” said David Sinclair, senior author of the study and a professor of genetics in the Blavatnik Institute at HMS, co-director of the Paul F. Glenn Center for Biology of Aging Research at HMS, and an expert on aging. 

While treatment to reverse glaucoma in humans is not yet on the horizon, scientists are optimistic about future studies that will be needed in different animal models—and eventually in humans. Scientists are hopeful that reprogramming genes could one day be used to treat glaucoma, vision loss, and other diseases associated with aging in the body. 

Eager to hear more? Listen to the WOSU Radio podcast episode, “Two Researchers With Indiana Ties May Have Discovered How To Reverse Glaucoma.”

*O’Neill, M. (2020, Dec. 9). Scientists Reverse the Aging Clock: Restore Age-Related Vision Loss Through Epigenetic Reprogramming. SciTechDaily. https://scitechdaily.com/scientists-reverse-the-aging-clock-restore-age-related-vision-loss-through-epigenetic-reprogramming/

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