Donor-Derived iPS Cells Show Promise for Treating Eye Disease

Age-related macular degeneration patients who received injections of retinal cells derived from donors’ induced pluripotent stem cells have maintained their level of eyesight for a year.

Written byJef Akst

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The results of the first clinical trial using induced pluripotent stem cells from donors point to signs of efficacy for treating the progressive form of blindness known as age-related macular degeneration. Last week, the Japanese team of researchers reported that the first five patients to be treated are doing well and did not suffer further eyesight loss for at least a year after receiving the therapy in 2017, according to The Japan Times. One patient’s eyesight even improved.

To create the therapy, researchers reprogrammed skin cells from an anonymous donor into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), then differentiated those stem cells into a type of retinal cell that was injected into the eyes of the patients.

According to the Riken Center for Developmental Biology’s Masayo Takahashi, who led the study and described the findings at the 123rd annual meeting of the Japanese Ophthalmological Society on ...

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Meet the Author

Jef Akst
Jef (an unusual nickname for Jennifer) got her master’s degree from Indiana University in April 2009 studying the mating behavior of seahorses. After four years of diving off the Gulf Coast of Tampa and performing behavioral experiments at the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga, she left research to pursue a career in science writing. As The Scientist's managing editor, Jef edited features and oversaw the production of the TS Digest and quarterly print magazine. In 2022, her feature on uterus transplantation earned first place in the trade category of the Awards for Excellence in Health Care Journalism. She is a member of the National Association of Science Writers.
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