Advanced Cell Technology reports visual function rescue in animals using retinal stem cells

By E. Janene Geiss

Philadelphia, Sept. 21 - Advanced Cell Technology, Inc. said Thursday that company scientists and collaborators rescued visual function in rats through implantation of retinal pigment epithelial cells derived from human embryonic stem cells.

The study results were reported in a paper published online Thursday ahead of print in the fall 2006 issue of the journal Cloning and Stem Cells, the Alameda, Calif., biopharmaceutical company said in a news release.

In a series of experiments, researchers generated retinal pigment epithelial cells from 18 different human embryonic stem cell lines. Cells were injected into rats in an attempt to compensate for the photoreceptor cell loss caused by a genetic trait carried by these rats.

These animals lose their photoreceptor cells over several months following birth and are used to study conditions under which this loss, similar to that occurring in macular degeneration, can be prevented or treated.

Results demonstrated that animals receiving human embryonic stem cell-derived retinal pigment epithelial cells performed significantly better than cell culture medium treated or untreated controls. Treated animals showed a 50% improvement over medium-treated controls and a 100% improvement over untreated controls in visual performance. Visual acuity was about 70% of normal rats, officials said.

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