World Colleges Information

• The retina is the name given to a diverse group of cells that line the inside of the back of eye. 

• Rays of light enter the eye and are focused onto the retina which produces a picture that is then is sent along the optic nerve for the brain to interpret. 

• The eye and the brain together produce the images that we see.

• Retinal diseases can cause severe vision loss or blindness if left untreated.

• Rhinitis pigments and age-related macular degeneration (AMD) are the most common causes of blindness in old age, and involve the gradual and normally irreversible destruction of retinal cells. 

• In the Japanese study, the cultured stem cells spontaneously organized themselves into a complex structure that resembled the developing embryonic eye. 

• The three-dimensional, layered structure was reminiscent of the optic cup, a two-walled pouch-like structure, which ultimately develops into the inner and outer layers of the retina. 

• The scientists said they were surprised at how well the cells organized themselves with little intervention from them.

Image: The growing retina can be seen highlighted green

• They said: "Self-formation of fully stratified 3D neural retina tissues heralds the next generation of generative medicine in retinal degeneration therapeutics, and opens up new avenues for the transplantation of artificial retinal tissue sheets, rather than simple cell grafting."

• Professor James Bainbridge of Moor fields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust said: "Generation of a synthetic retina from embryonic stem cells is a landmark discovery that will help enormously our understanding of blinding eye disease. 

• "It is particularly exciting that this could also provide a source of cells for transplantation."

• Barbara McLaughlin of the RIB charity said: "This piece of research contributes to the ongoing efforts to harness stem cell research to benefit patients with a number of eye diseases. 

• "We welcome these efforts particularly where they move from early laboratory research in mice to trials in humans that are an essential part of developing safe and effective treatments."