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A woman in Japan with a corneal disease has become the first person in the world to receive a corneal transplant made from induced pluripotent stem cells, according to a team of researchers led by ophthalmologist Kohji Nishida at Osaka University.
The cornea, a clear layer that covers the eye, contains stem cells that repair damage and maintain vision. These stem cells can be lost through injury or disease, which can then cause blurry vision and lead to blindness. As part of a clinical trial, the team performed a cornea transplant on a woman in her 40s with a corneal disease that caused her to lose these stem cells. The induced pluripotent stem cells (IPSCs) used in the transplant were taken from an adult donor, reprogrammed into an undifferentiated state, and then induced to develop into corneal stem cells.
In March, the Japanese health ministry gave ...
