LA JOLLA, Calif., July 29, 2002 (LSN.ca)—Stem cells taken from adult bone marrow can be grown into new blood vessels in the eyes of mice, and may lead to a treatment for some illnesses that cause blindness in humans, such as diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration. The study, led by Dr. Martin Friedlander, at the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California, will appear in the September issue of the journal Nature Medicine.
Reports made clear that the study used “adult” cells from bone marrow and that they need not be harvested from human embryos, a process that kills the embryo. The successful study was based on a type of stem cell called an “endothelial precursor cell” taken from mouse bone marrow. When these cells were injected into the eyes of mice, they attached to cells in the retina called astrocytes and then formed new blood vessels.
Peter A. Dudley, director of the retinal diseases program the U.S. National Eye Institute, said it is “extremely interesting” and could lead to human treatments, though he cautioned that it is a big leap from treating mice to treating humans.