A research group of Professor Koji Nishida and Associate Professor Ryuhei Hayashi of the Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University, for the production of cells in the main parts of the eye such as the cornea, crystalline lens, and retina from human iPS cells. Was successful.Until now, the technology to create only the retina and retinal pigment epithelium of the eye has been reported, but the technology that can simultaneously guide the front part of the eye such as the cornea and crystalline lens and the back part of the eye such as the retina is the first in the world. increase.This research result was published in the electronic version of "Nature" in March 2016.
The cornea that covers the surface of the black eye can lead to blindness if damaged by illness, trauma, or chemicals.Until now, the method of transplanting another person's cornea has been used for such diseases, but there have been problems such as rejection and a shortage of donors.Professor Nishida and his colleagues have developed and clinically applied a regenerative therapy (COMET) that transplants epithelial cells of the oral mucosa as an alternative. , The effect of COMET has also been shown to be limited.Therefore, we were looking for the development of a technology to create corneal epithelial cells from the patient's own cells.
Human iPS cells, which can differentiate into any cell lineage and can also be an autologous cell source that can avoid immune rejection, have been expected as a cell source to solve this problem, but until now, human iPS cells have been functionally functional. The technology to create a unique corneal epithelial tissue has not been established.This time, the research group of Professor Nishida et al. Created a concentric four-layered small tissue (SEAM) containing cells that are the source of major parts of the eye such as the cornea, lens, and retina from human iPS cells using a unique method. I succeeded in doing it.When a thin sheet of cells, which is the pre-stage of corneal epithelium, was made from this tissue and transplanted into a rabbit without a cornea, it was confirmed that it had corneal function.
This research result, which is the first in the world, will greatly contribute to the application to the corneal epithelial regeneration treatment method using iPS cells in humans.Furthermore, it has the potential to contribute to the development of regenerative medicine not only for the cornea but also for various parts of the eye, and further technological development is expected in the future.
