Scientists at the Center for Living Systems of the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology have developed a new method for growing donated human retina fragments in laboratory conditions.
The researchers explained that the new technology will allow for testing viral vectors used in gene therapy before moving on to animal trials, which will help accelerate the development of new treatments and reduce the risks associated with them.
They pointed out that retinal fragments can be obtained after the donor's death, provided they are processed within six hours of being obtained, and then placed in a special nutrient solution on support membranes, allowing the tissues to be kept alive for up to two weeks, a period sufficient to test gene-transfer viruses and new therapeutic platforms.
Al-Saloum Al-Miqdad, head of the gene therapy team for retinal diseases and a researcher at the institute’s genome engineering laboratory, said that the approach based on growing parts of the donated retina allows for the study of the interaction of viral vectors with human tissues directly, while preserving their complex structure and cell diversity, although applying this technology requires going through several major complex stages.
He added that this method represents an important advantage compared to traditional pre-clinical animal trials, whose results are often not reproducible in the human eye, as well as being costly and raising ethical concerns.
According to the researchers, the new technology is expected to accelerate the development of treatments for common retinal diseases, including retinitis pigmentosa, Stargardt disease, and age-related macular degeneration, which affect millions of people worldwide.
