Blind Mice see light with algae protein
- added April 28, 2008
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Thanks to an ingenious genetic hack, blind mice have seen the light.
In a study published yesterday in Nature Neuroscience, researchers led by Swiss neuroscientist Botond Roska added a light-sensitive protein to cells in the eyes of sightless mice.
Though not quite able to see, the modified animals were able to detect light and motion. The researchers say that more refined versions of the technique could someday restore sight in humans.
Most cases of human blindness involve a massive loss of photoreceptors -- specialized eye cells that send electrical signals up the optic nerve when hit by photons. The brain processes the signals, turning patterns of excitation into a vision.
Like people suffering from age-related macular degeneration, Roska's mice lacked photoreceptors. But rather than trying to restore them, the researchers ignored these cells altogether. Instead they genetically modified their mice to express a protein called ChR2, normally found on the cellular surfaces of algae, within another group of retinal cells.
In a study published yesterday in Nature Neuroscience, researchers led by Swiss neuroscientist Botond Roska added a light-sensitive protein to cells in the eyes of sightless mice.
Though not quite able to see, the modified animals were able to detect light and motion. The researchers say that more refined versions of the technique could someday restore sight in humans.
Most cases of human blindness involve a massive loss of photoreceptors -- specialized eye cells that send electrical signals up the optic nerve when hit by photons. The brain processes the signals, turning patterns of excitation into a vision.
Like people suffering from age-related macular degeneration, Roska's mice lacked photoreceptors. But rather than trying to restore them, the researchers ignored these cells altogether. Instead they genetically modified their mice to express a protein called ChR2, normally found on the cellular surfaces of algae, within another group of retinal cells.
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