Emory Eye Center gift supports age-related macular degeneration stem cell research

A $486,000 gift from the R. Howard Dobbs, Jr. Foundation will enable the Emory Eye Center to investigate new stem cell strategies for combatting geographic atrophy, a condition associated with age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The Dobbs funding will support the purchase of equipment that is critical to the ongoing translational research being conducted by Emory Eye Center's John Nickerson and Sayantan Datta. Their proposal, “Differentiating Induced Pluripotent Cells into Retina Pigment Epithelial Cells as a Treatment for Geographic Atrophy in AMD,” outlines a process by which researchers will investigate the viability of using stem cells to regenerate a portion of the eye that is affected by AMD. AMD is a progressive disease that starts with the loss of central vision. Left untreated, it is the leading cause of blindness among the elderly. It is characterized by the decay of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) layer which eventually leads to the decay of the underlying photoreceptors. Patients with dry AMD experience geographic atrophy, a condition which has no treatment. In recent years, stem cells have been used to generate functional RPE which has then been used as a novel treatment for dry AMD. The new RPE is injected directly into the eye to replace dysfunctional atrophic RPE. Nickerson and Datta will focus on using induced pluripotent cells (iPSC) to create the new RPE. Their work will focus on improving the process by which iPSC is differentiated to become fully functioning RPE. In a healthy human body, RPE generation is supported by the Bruch's membrane. To facilitate this process with stem cells, creating a scaffold that mimics Bruch's membrane will be an important first step. The differentiation protocol for iPSC to RPE is still not perfect, Datta notes, but the team will be seeking to improve it as they work. The team will also investigate the possibility of improving immune response to transplantation by developing stem cells that are stripped of the factors that typically trigger rejection. By using these altered cells for RPE differentiation they hope the transplantation will avoid rejection issues.