Cambridge scientists grow ‘human lens’ which could pave way for new eye treatments
Researchers from Anglia Ruskin University created the “mini lenses” in the lab.
Scientists have grown a realistic human lens from stem cells for the first time which could potentially pave the way for new treatments for cataracts and other eye conditions.
In a new breakthrough, researchers from Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) in Cambridgeshire created the “mini lenses” in the lab.
The team, which also includes experts from Cardiff University and the University of Osaka in Japan, said that the lenses closely resemble the natural lens inside the human eye.
It is hoped the new lenses will now be able to be used to test new medicines and better understand eye diseases.
The researchers said lenses could also “contribute to the development of future regenerative treatments” after finding the lenses can mimic some of the natural regenerative processes seen during lens development.
Professor Barbara Pierscionek, from the Centre for Biomedicine and Health Innovation at ARU, said: “This is a major step forward as it is very difficult to obtain and study human eye lens tissue while it is developing.
“We’ve now successfully grown miniature human lens tissue from stem cells in the laboratory and identified the conditions needed for it to closely resemble a natural human lens.
“As the technology develops, these lab-grown tissues could help us test new medicines, better understand diseases that affect vision, and potentially contribute to the development of future regenerative treatments.”
Writing in the journal npj Regenerative Medicine, researchers described the process of developing the lens.
They used adult cells that have been reprogrammed into a stem cell-like state.
ARU said the scientists then developed a growth method that encouraged the cells to organise themselves into lens-like structures.
The authors reported that the lenses posses many of the key biological features seen in real human lenses.
They also said that the cells from these mini lenses could generate new lens-like structures.
It is hoped that the finding could one day help develop treatments for conditions like cataracts, which occurs when the lens in the eye becomes cloudy.
Over time cataracts get worse and may need cataract surgery to improve sight, which involves replacing the cloudy lens in your eye with an artificial lens.