Converting stem cells to retinal ganglion cells: the future of glaucoma research?

Written by Lauren Pulling

Researchers from Indiana University (IN, USA) have successfully developed and demonstrated a technique to derive retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) from human stem cells in order to identify the cellular processes related to glaucoma. In the study, published online in Stem Cells, skin cell biopsies were carried out on both glaucoma patients and healthy individuals. The cells were then genetically reprogrammed to become (human) pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs). Following this, researchers directed the step-wise differentiation of these cells through an enriched retinal progenitor intermediary to produce fully differentiated RGCs. Previous studies have generated RGCs from a pluripotent source, but have been...

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