| A new discovery has been made by scientists by using gene therapy to regenerate damaged nerve fibres in the eye that could aid the development of new treatments for glaucoma, one of the leading causes of blindness worldwide. In the adult Central Nervous System (CNS), there are nerve fibres called Axon, which normally do not regenerate after injury and disease. These damages are often irreversible. Over the past decade, however, numerous discoveries have been made that suggests that it may be possible to make the irreversible, reversible. Scientists have tested the possibility, in a study published in Nature Communications, that the gene responsible for the production of a protein known as Protrudin could stimulate the regeneration of nerve cells and protect them from cell death after an injury. The team at the University of Cambridge, used a system where they grew brain cells in a dish. Then using laser, they injured their axons and analysed the response using live-cell microscopy. The result was that these nerve cells vastly increased their ability to regenerate by increasing the amount of Protrudin. Retinal ganglion cells, the nerve cells in the retina, extend their axons from the eye to the brains through the optic nerve in order to relay and process the vital information. In order to know whether Protrudin might stimulate repair in an intact organism, gene therapy method has been used to increase the amount and activity of Protrudin the eye and optic nerve. After a crush injury to the optic nerve, the researchers measured the amount of regeneration and found that Protrudin had enabled the axons to regenerate over large distances. Also, they found that retinal ganglion cells were protected from cell death. Glaucoma is known to progressively damage the optic nerves and is also responsible for the elevated pressure inside the eye. If not diagnosed early enough, glaucoma can lead to loss of vision. This article was originally published at Science Daily. |
