Scientists from Yale University are studying whether the regenerative power of retinal cells in zebrafish could be used as a therapeutic tool to treat different retinal degenerative diseases in mammals.
The scientists are reportedly studying Muller glial cells (MGs) in zebrafish that serve as retinal stem cells capable of generating new cells. For the study, the research team reportedly transferred genes into MGs to activate the stem cell properties of these normally dormant cells, causing them to reproduce and make other types of retinal cells.
According to the scientists, in the future they hope the cells can be manipulated to replenish lost retinal neurons, either in diseased or physically damaged retinas, and developed into a therapeutic tool.
The study was recently published in the journal Cell Reports.
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