According to the National Institutes of Health, the most common reason for severe vision loss in Caucasians and the second leading cause in African Americans and Hispanics, is age-related macular degeneration (AMD). To better treat AMD and other diseases of the retina that can lead to blindness, scientists need to better understand them. To this end, researchers at Louisiana State University’s Health New Orleans Neuroscience Center of Excellence have created a special group of cells from the human retina for use in experimentation.*

The ABCs of eye disease research

For the study, published in Frontiers in Neuroscience the research team used retinal pigment epithelial cells (RPEs) to create the new cell line. RPEs are the main protectors of the health and function of photoreceptor cells (the cells that actually detect light), which are critical to our sight.

The researchers say the new cells, called ABC, closely resemble actual RPE cells and retain their properties. This makes them a reliable model for studying retinal diseases.

Research advantages

Lead study author Nicolas Bazan, M.D., Ph.D. explains that RPE and photoreceptor cells are at continual risk of oxidative stress (damage) from metabolic activity, oxygen, and fatty acids. Any breakdown in RPE cell protection of photoreceptor cells can lead to diseases of the retina, like AMD. The new ABC cells:

• Are more resistant to oxidative stress, allowing researchers to study the processes involved in normal cell repair. 
• Make it easier to learn how RPE cell age (when cells stop dividing but don’t die off) is genetically programmed, and how this leads to cell degeneration.

Potential added benefits

Bazan says that, since RPE cells also share traits with brain cells, scientists are working on converting RPE cells into photoreceptors that may be able to be replaced in people with serious eye diseases, and that “The new cell would be a good candidate for that purpose.”

He also said the new ABC cell line could be useful in helping get to the bottom of Alzheimer’s and other degenerative brain diseases.

*Louisiana State University. (2022, July 13). Developing a new human cell line to study blinding eye disorders. MDLinx. https://www.mdlinx.com/news/developing-a-new-human-cell-line-to-study-blinding-eye-disorders/56xGthMidziPgrcWsrsGbM