|
Katia Del Rio-Tsonis, associate professor of zoology at Miami University, has received a $1.4 million grant from the National Eye Institute (NEI, part of the National Institutes of Health) for a study of the signaling pathways involved in retina regeneration and repair in chicks. The study will pinpoint molecules involved in the replacement of retina cells and could provide insight into future treatments of eye blinding diseases.
In many vertebrates, including humans, a population of retinal stem cells is maintained after development of the retina. In most vertebrates, these retinal stem cells remain quiescent and do not respond to injury of the retina, according to Del Rio-Tsonis. However, the embryonic chick has the ability to regenerate its retina upon injury/removal from its population of retinal stem cells.
Del Rio-Tsonis and her lab have established a retina regeneration model in the embryonic chick in which they can manipulate key molecular pathways that could control retina repair and regeneration.
In this new five-year study, they will delineate the signaling pathways involved -- specifically the hedgehog (Hh) and the fibroblast growth factor (FGF) pathways -- and pinpoint key molecules that regulate these retina regeneration and repair processes.
The leading causes of vision impairment and blindness in the United States are primarily age-related eye diseases, including age-related macular degeneration, according to the NEI. No effective treatment has been developed to replace the lost retina cells in these diseases. Del Rio-Tsonis' research will lead to an understanding of the molecular mechanisms involved in the induction of retina regeneration and may shed light on future therapies for vision impairment and blindness.
|
