651 lines
36 KiB
Text
651 lines
36 KiB
Text
|
||
<!DOCTYPE html>
|
||
<html lang="en" dir="ltr">
|
||
<head>
|
||
<meta charset="utf-8" />
|
||
<meta name="description" content="A National Eye Institute-funded study has identified a type of stem cell called a neural progenitor cell, in a region of the optic nerve, which connects the eye to the brain." />
|
||
<meta name="keywords" content="Stem Cells,Neuroscience,Glaucoma,Regenerative Medicine" />
|
||
<meta name="google" content="vityevxlt8UuVFWvgz9_YwmJ5F0Nby_B3t54LLh-3Zw,lACaj571Gx_VdLF3HKSKUf1Wxx0H_bWxO3BYDZ_C1uw" />
|
||
<meta name="google-site-verification" content="vityevxlt8UuVFWvgz9_YwmJ5F0Nby_B3t54LLh-3Zw" />
|
||
<meta name="google-site-verification" content="lACaj571Gx_VdLF3HKSKUf1Wxx0H_bWxO3BYDZ_C1uw" />
|
||
<meta name="google-site-verification" content="UDfyeEAWNX_rJUHwog9j1kziEnByGwhkSJGLJclUWDA" />
|
||
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" />
|
||
<script type="application/ld+json">{
|
||
"@context": "https://schema.org",
|
||
"@graph": [
|
||
{
|
||
"@type": "NewsArticle",
|
||
"@id": "https://www.nei.nih.gov/about/news-and-events/news/nih-funded-study-identifies-stem-cells-optic-nerve",
|
||
"name": "NIH-funded study identifies stem cells in optic nerve",
|
||
"headline": "NIH-funded study identifies stem cells in optic nerve",
|
||
"image": {
|
||
"@type": "ImageObject",
|
||
"representativeOfPage": "False",
|
||
"url": "https://www.nei.nih.gov/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/2020-07/UMD-Bernstein-on.jpg?itok=GpwkbVBt",
|
||
"width": "400",
|
||
"height": "400"
|
||
},
|
||
"datePublished": "2020-07-31T12:05:23-0400",
|
||
"dateModified": "2025-01-27T16:33:57-0500",
|
||
"author": {
|
||
"@type": "GovernmentOrganization",
|
||
"@id": "https://www.nei.nih.gov/about/news-and-events/news/nih-funded-study-identifies-stem-cells-optic-nerve",
|
||
"name": "National Eye Institute",
|
||
"url": "https://www.nei.nih.gov"
|
||
},
|
||
"publisher": {
|
||
"@type": "GovernmentOrganization",
|
||
"@id": "https://www.nei.nih.gov/about/news-and-events/news/nih-funded-study-identifies-stem-cells-optic-nerve",
|
||
"name": "National Eye Institute",
|
||
"url": "https://www.nei.nih.gov"
|
||
}
|
||
},
|
||
{
|
||
"@type": "WebPage",
|
||
"@id": "https://www.nei.nih.gov/about/news-and-events/news/nih-funded-study-identifies-stem-cells-optic-nerve",
|
||
"breadcrumb": {
|
||
"@type": "BreadcrumbList",
|
||
"itemListElement": [
|
||
{
|
||
"@type": "ListItem",
|
||
"position": 1,
|
||
"name": "Home",
|
||
"item": "https://www.nei.nih.gov/"
|
||
},
|
||
{
|
||
"@type": "ListItem",
|
||
"position": 2,
|
||
"name": "About NEI",
|
||
"item": "https://www.nei.nih.gov/about"
|
||
},
|
||
{
|
||
"@type": "ListItem",
|
||
"position": 3,
|
||
"name": "News and Events",
|
||
"item": "https://www.nei.nih.gov/about/news-and-events"
|
||
},
|
||
{
|
||
"@type": "ListItem",
|
||
"position": 4,
|
||
"name": "NEI Research News",
|
||
"item": "https://www.nei.nih.gov/about/news-and-events/news"
|
||
},
|
||
{
|
||
"@type": "ListItem",
|
||
"position": 5,
|
||
"name": "NIH-funded study identifies stem cells in optic nerve ",
|
||
"item": "https://www.nei.nih.gov/about/news-and-events/news/nih-funded-study-identifies-stem-cells-optic-nerve"
|
||
}
|
||
]
|
||
},
|
||
"author": {
|
||
"@type": "GovernmentOrganization",
|
||
"@id": "https://www.nei.nih.gov",
|
||
"name": "National Eye Institute",
|
||
"url": "https://www.nei.nih.gov"
|
||
},
|
||
"publisher": {
|
||
"@type": "GovernmentOrganization",
|
||
"@id": "https://www.nei.nih.gov",
|
||
"name": "National Eye Institute",
|
||
"url": "https://www.nei.nih.gov"
|
||
}
|
||
}
|
||
]
|
||
}</script>
|
||
<link rel="icon" type="image/png" href="/themes/custom/nei/images/favicon.png" />
|
||
<link rel="apple-touch-icon" href="/themes/custom/nei/images/apple-touch-icon.png" />
|
||
<meta name="last-updated" content="Jan 27, 2025, 4:33:57 PM" />
|
||
<link rel="icon" href="/themes/custom/nei/favicon.ico" type="image/vnd.microsoft.icon" />
|
||
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="en" href="https://www.nei.nih.gov/about/news-and-events/news/nih-funded-study-identifies-stem-cells-optic-nerve" />
|
||
<link rel="canonical" href="https://www.nei.nih.gov/about/news-and-events/news/nih-funded-study-identifies-stem-cells-optic-nerve" />
|
||
<link rel="shortlink" href="https://www.nei.nih.gov/node/3151" />
|
||
|
||
<title>NIH-funded study identifies stem cells in optic nerve | National Eye Institute</title>
|
||
<link rel="preload" href="/themes/custom/nei/fonts/Aleo-Bold.woff2" as="font" type="font/woff2" crossorigin>
|
||
<link rel="preload" href="/themes/custom/nei/fonts/Lato-Regular.woff2" as="font" type="font/woff2" crossorigin>
|
||
<link rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="/sites/default/files/css/css_PGSk_7b88hq2qr_--_38MLvoj1ffr9jv3JhnNJTnKUM.css?delta=0&language=en&theme=nei&include=eJw1ytEKgCAMRuEXsnwk-dMxrOliTqi3j4iuDnycfFCprpbyHK4tDb-FRvwSshrFYvOErNhxBUHnCaYEcbJ_61Qji26Q5ZXa-QH_YCJ9" />
|
||
<link rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="/themes/custom/nei/css/style.css?sraguf" />
|
||
|
||
<script type="application/json" data-drupal-selector="drupal-settings-json">{"path":{"baseUrl":"\/","pathPrefix":"","currentPath":"node\/3151","currentPathIsAdmin":false,"isFront":false,"currentLanguage":"en"},"pluralDelimiter":"\u0003","gtag":{"tagId":"","consentMode":false,"otherIds":[],"events":[],"additionalConfigInfo":[]},"suppressDeprecationErrors":true,"ajaxPageState":{"libraries":"eJxdjFsOwjAMBC8U6iNFbmKZgPNQ7BTK6SmgCsrPrndkTbhSTFa7D0OtZq-2Cil8yoWOj5WYYT8c18pC3pCBt_jfE17wfoTZCRYeyORRjPruLmhpIS-b2EvFmArD73CFErDUGeWkoadmekCb5fXVsCN3bGeF2EdDmb5kGqWNWZKeKTpd1SjDjEpuSXRTeOeUaxxCT9WYZ50","theme":"nei","theme_token":null},"ajaxTrustedUrl":{"form_action_p_pvdeGsVG5zNF_XLGPTvYSKCf43t8qZYSwcfZl2uzM":true},"gtm":{"tagId":null,"settings":{"data_layer":"dataLayer","include_classes":false,"allowlist_classes":"google\nnonGooglePixels\nnonGoogleScripts\nnonGoogleIframes","blocklist_classes":"customScripts\ncustomPixels","include_environment":false,"environment_id":"","environment_token":""},"tagIds":["GTM-TLVNS7W"]},"user":{"uid":0,"permissionsHash":"c48594e108b5c1c2bea409821b71477d5bc2724c8cae6d31f1d985af0daab85c"}}</script>
|
||
<script src="/sites/default/files/js/js_WgzMsgqb-MiW-Z2aLffGQHepZwX2hWrEHSrb46WqZrk.js?scope=header&delta=0&language=en&theme=nei&include=eJxdjEEOgCAMBD-E9kmkYrOpqdQAMerr5eBBvUx29jCp8HUKQOkZAe4wiY1B6Pj7yAsf33MNmZvuEq0nojnPmkFvCVmUYD6xDTUV3Vq9ATUbLxk"></script>
|
||
<script src="https://script.crazyegg.com/pages/scripts/0117/6571.js" async></script>
|
||
<script src="/modules/contrib/google_tag/js/gtag.js?sraguf"></script>
|
||
<script src="/modules/contrib/google_tag/js/gtm.js?sraguf"></script>
|
||
|
||
</head>
|
||
<body class="t-news_item t-node__3151 path-about-news-and-events-news-nih-funded-study-identifies-stem-cells-optic-nerve">
|
||
<a href="#main-content" class="u-skip-link">
|
||
Skip to content
|
||
</a>
|
||
<noscript><iframe src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-TLVNS7W"
|
||
height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe></noscript>
|
||
|
||
<div class="dialog-off-canvas-main-canvas" data-off-canvas-main-canvas>
|
||
|
||
<div id="u-page-outer" class="u-outer">
|
||
<div class="views-element-container site-notice-block" id="block-views-block-site-notices-block-1">
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
<div>
|
||
<div class="js-view-dom-id-bca3892fe522a94248c74087cbf8646ffbc018befc8d0e64978ba8c06dc01631 site-notices">
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
</div>
|
||
</div>
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
</div>
|
||
|
||
|
||
<img src="/themes/custom/nei/images/NEI-logo-tagline.svg" alt="" width="200" height="48" class="u-print-only">
|
||
<div class="r-global-header">
|
||
<div id="r-header-outer" class="r-header">
|
||
|
||
<div class="r-header-inner">
|
||
|
||
<div id="block-nei-branding" class="o-block--logo" role="banner">
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
<div class="o-logo">
|
||
<a href="/" class="o-logo__link" title="Home" rel="home"><span class="o-logo__text">National Eye Institute</span> <span class="o-logo__tagline">Research Today… Vision Tomorrow</span></a>
|
||
</div>
|
||
|
||
|
||
</div>
|
||
|
||
<div id="block-neimenubutton-2">
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
<div class="o-menu-toggle"><button class="o-menu-toggle__btn" id="menu-toggle__btn" aria-controls="block-mainnavigation" aria-expanded="true">Menu</button></div>
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
</div>
|
||
<div class="language-switcher-language-url has-no-translation" id="block-languageswitcher" role="navigation" aria-label="Language switcher">
|
||
|
||
|
||
<ul class="links">
|
||
<li class="is-active">
|
||
<a href="/about/news-and-events/news/nih-funded-study-identifies-stem-cells-optic-nerve" class="language-link is-active" lang="en" data-drupal-link-system-path="node/3151" aria-current="page">English</a>
|
||
</li>
|
||
<li>
|
||
<a href="/espanol/node/3151" class="language-link is-active" lang="es" data-drupal-link-system-path="node/3151" aria-current="page"> Español</a>
|
||
</li>
|
||
</ul>
|
||
|
||
|
||
</div>
|
||
<div class="search-global c-search--global" data-drupal-selector="search-global" id="block-globalsearchform" role="search">
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
<form action="/about/news-and-events/news/nih-funded-study-identifies-stem-cells-optic-nerve" method="post" id="search-global" accept-charset="UTF-8">
|
||
<div class="c-form__inner">
|
||
<div class="js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textfield form-item-global-terms js-form-item-global-terms">
|
||
<label for="edit-global-terms">Search the site</label>
|
||
<input data-drupal-selector="edit-global-terms" type="text" id="edit-global-terms" name="global-terms" value="" size="30" maxlength="128" placeholder="Search the site" class="form-text" />
|
||
|
||
</div>
|
||
<input data-drupal-selector="form-gn4mqgo0qsmaj1ap95ut2jkyu4e8bkrgzrna1hujtlq" type="hidden" name="form_build_id" value="form-gN4mQGo0qsmAJ1Ap95ut2JkYu4e8BKrGZrna1HUJTLQ" />
|
||
<input data-drupal-selector="edit-search-global" type="hidden" name="form_id" value="search_global" />
|
||
<div data-drupal-selector="edit-global-actions" class="form-actions js-form-wrapper form-wrapper" id="edit-global-actions"><input data-drupal-selector="edit-global-submit" type="submit" id="edit-global-submit" name="op" value="Search" class="button js-form-submit form-submit" />
|
||
</div>
|
||
|
||
</div>
|
||
</form>
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
</div>
|
||
|
||
</div>
|
||
|
||
</div>
|
||
|
||
<div class="r-menu-primary">
|
||
<nav aria-label="Main navigation" id="block-mainnavigation" class="o-menu-main__outer">
|
||
|
||
<ul class="o-menu o-menu-main"> <li class="o-menu-main__item o-menu-main__item--expanded o-menu-main__item--no-js"> <a href="/learn-about-eye-health" class="o-menu-main__link" data-drupal-link-system-path="node/39">Learn About Eye Health</a>
|
||
<ul class="o-menu o-menu-main__submenu"> <li class="o-menu-main__item o-menu-main__item--collapsed"> <a href="/learn-about-eye-health/healthy-vision" class="o-menu-main__link" data-drupal-link-system-path="node/788">Healthy Vision</a>
|
||
</li>
|
||
<li class="o-menu-main__item o-menu-main__item--collapsed"> <a href="/learn-about-eye-health/eye-conditions-and-diseases" class="o-menu-main__link" data-drupal-link-system-path="learn-about-eye-health/eye-conditions-and-diseases">Eye Conditions and Diseases</a>
|
||
</li>
|
||
<li class="o-menu-main__item o-menu-main__item--collapsed"> <a href="/learn-about-eye-health/eye-health-data-and-statistics" class="o-menu-main__link" data-drupal-link-system-path="node/825">Eye Health Data and Statistics</a>
|
||
</li>
|
||
<li class="o-menu-main__item o-menu-main__item--collapsed"> <a href="/learn-about-eye-health/campaigns" class="o-menu-main__link" data-drupal-link-system-path="node/3859">Campaigns</a>
|
||
</li>
|
||
<li class="o-menu-main__item"> <a href="/learn-about-eye-health/vision-rehabilitation" class="o-menu-main__link" data-drupal-link-system-path="node/3865">Vision Rehabilitation</a>
|
||
</li>
|
||
<li class="o-menu-main__item"> <a href="/learn-about-eye-health/nei-for-kids" class="o-menu-main__link" data-drupal-link-system-path="node/162">NEI for Kids</a>
|
||
</li>
|
||
<li class="o-menu-main__item o-menu-main__item--collapsed"> <a href="/learn-about-eye-health/outreach-resources" class="o-menu-main__link" data-drupal-link-system-path="node/125">Outreach Resources</a>
|
||
</li>
|
||
</ul>
|
||
</li>
|
||
<li class="o-menu-main__item o-menu-main__item--expanded o-menu-main__item--no-js"> <a href="/grants-and-training" class="o-menu-main__link" data-drupal-link-system-path="node/143">Grants and Training</a>
|
||
<ul class="o-menu-main__submenu o-menu"> <li class="o-menu-main__item"> <a href="/grants-and-training/how-apply" class="o-menu-main__link" data-drupal-link-system-path="node/145">How to Apply</a>
|
||
</li>
|
||
<li class="o-menu-main__item o-menu-main__item--collapsed"> <a href="/grants-and-training/funding-opportunities" class="o-menu-main__link" data-drupal-link-system-path="node/144">Funding Opportunities</a>
|
||
</li>
|
||
<li class="o-menu-main__item o-menu-main__item--collapsed"> <a href="/grants-and-training/training-nei" class="o-menu-main__link" data-drupal-link-system-path="node/146">Training at NEI</a>
|
||
</li>
|
||
<li class="o-menu-main__item o-menu-main__item--collapsed"> <a href="/grants-and-training/funding-training-and-career-development" class="o-menu-main__link" data-drupal-link-system-path="node/152">Funding for Training and Career Development</a>
|
||
</li>
|
||
<li class="o-menu-main__item o-menu-main__item--collapsed"> <a href="/grants-and-training/policies-and-procedures" class="o-menu-main__link" data-drupal-link-system-path="node/149">Policies and Procedures</a>
|
||
</li>
|
||
<li class="o-menu-main__item"> <a href="/grants-and-training/Prior-Approval-Requests" class="o-menu-main__link" data-drupal-link-system-path="node/3918">Prior Approval Requests</a>
|
||
</li>
|
||
<li class="o-menu-main__item o-menu-main__item--collapsed"> <a href="/grants-and-training/resources-researchers" class="o-menu-main__link" data-drupal-link-system-path="node/150">Resources for Researchers</a>
|
||
</li>
|
||
<li class="o-menu-main__item o-menu-main__item--collapsed"> <a href="/grants-and-training/contact-grants-and-funding-staff" class="o-menu-main__link" data-drupal-link-system-path="node/151">Contact Grants and Funding Staff</a>
|
||
</li>
|
||
</ul>
|
||
</li>
|
||
<li class="o-menu-main__item o-menu-main__item--expanded o-menu-main__item--no-js"> <a href="/research" class="o-menu-main__link" data-drupal-link-system-path="node/41">Research at NEI</a>
|
||
<ul class="o-menu-main__submenu o-menu"> <li class="o-menu-main__item"> <a href="/about/news-and-events/news" title="Research News" class="o-menu-main__link" data-drupal-link-system-path="about/news-and-events/news">Research News</a>
|
||
</li>
|
||
<li class="o-menu-main__item o-menu-main__item--collapsed"> <a href="/research/clinical-trials" class="o-menu-main__link" data-drupal-link-system-path="node/132">Clinical Trials</a>
|
||
</li>
|
||
<li class="o-menu-main__item o-menu-main__item--collapsed"> <a href="/research/research-labs-and-branches" class="o-menu-main__link" data-drupal-link-system-path="node/270">Research Labs and Branches</a>
|
||
</li>
|
||
<li class="o-menu-main__item"> <a href="/research/jobs-and-training-opportunities-nei" class="o-menu-main__link" data-drupal-link-system-path="node/564">Jobs and Training Opportunities at NEI</a>
|
||
</li>
|
||
<li class="o-menu-main__item"> <a href="/research/seminars" class="o-menu-main__link" data-drupal-link-system-path="node/4048">NEI Research Seminars</a>
|
||
</li>
|
||
</ul>
|
||
</li>
|
||
<li class="o-menu-main__item o-menu-main__item--expanded o-menu-main__item--no-js"> <a href="/about" class="o-menu-main__link" data-drupal-link-system-path="node/275">About NEI</a>
|
||
<ul class="o-menu-main__submenu o-menu"> <li class="o-menu-main__item"> <a href="/about/strategic-planning" class="o-menu-main__link" data-drupal-link-system-path="node/2857">Strategic Planning</a>
|
||
</li>
|
||
<li class="o-menu-main__item o-menu-main__item--collapsed"> <a href="/about/news-and-events" class="o-menu-main__link" data-drupal-link-system-path="node/131">News and Events</a>
|
||
</li>
|
||
<li class="o-menu-main__item o-menu-main__item--collapsed"> <a href="/about/goals-and-accomplishments" class="o-menu-main__link" data-drupal-link-system-path="node/281">Goals and Accomplishments</a>
|
||
</li>
|
||
<li class="o-menu-main__item o-menu-main__item--collapsed"> <a href="/about/nei-history" class="o-menu-main__link" data-drupal-link-system-path="node/282">NEI History</a>
|
||
</li>
|
||
<li class="o-menu-main__item o-menu-main__item--collapsed"> <a href="/about/nei-leadership" class="o-menu-main__link" data-drupal-link-system-path="node/415">NEI Leadership</a>
|
||
</li>
|
||
<li class="o-menu-main__item o-menu-main__item--collapsed"> <a href="/about/budget-and-congress" class="o-menu-main__link" data-drupal-link-system-path="node/395">Budget and Congress</a>
|
||
</li>
|
||
<li class="o-menu-main__item o-menu-main__item--collapsed"> <a href="/about/advisory-committees" class="o-menu-main__link" data-drupal-link-system-path="node/285">Advisory Committees</a>
|
||
</li>
|
||
<li class="o-menu-main__item"> <a href="/learn-about-eye-health/outreach-resources/national-eye-health-education-program" title="National Eye Health Education Program" class="o-menu-main__link" data-drupal-link-system-path="node/265">National Eye Health Education Program</a>
|
||
</li>
|
||
<li class="o-menu-main__item"> <a href="/about/donate-nei" class="o-menu-main__link" data-drupal-link-system-path="node/286">Donate to NEI</a>
|
||
</li>
|
||
</ul>
|
||
</li>
|
||
</ul>
|
||
|
||
|
||
</nav>
|
||
|
||
|
||
</div>
|
||
</div>
|
||
|
||
<div class="o-overlay" aria-hidden="true"></div>
|
||
|
||
<div class="r-breadcrumb">
|
||
|
||
<div id="block-nei-breadcrumbs">
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
<nav aria-label="Breadcrumb">
|
||
<ol class="c-breadcrumb">
|
||
<li>
|
||
<a href="/">Home</a>
|
||
</li>
|
||
<li>
|
||
<a href="/about">About NEI</a>
|
||
</li>
|
||
<li>
|
||
<a href="/about/news-and-events">News and Events</a>
|
||
</li>
|
||
<li>
|
||
<a href="/about/news-and-events/news">NEI Research News</a>
|
||
</li>
|
||
<li>
|
||
NIH-funded study identifies stem cells in optic nerve
|
||
</li>
|
||
</ol>
|
||
</nav>
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
</div>
|
||
|
||
|
||
</div>
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
<div class="r-page-header">
|
||
<div class="o-page-header">
|
||
|
||
<div id="block-nei-page-title">
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
<h1>
|
||
<span>NIH-funded study identifies stem cells in optic nerve </span>
|
||
</h1>
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
</div>
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
</div>
|
||
</div>
|
||
|
||
<div class="r-highlighted">
|
||
<div data-drupal-messages-fallback class="hidden"></div>
|
||
|
||
|
||
</div>
|
||
|
||
<div class="r-help">
|
||
|
||
</div>
|
||
<main id="main-content" class="r-main">
|
||
<div class="r-pre-content">
|
||
|
||
</div>
|
||
|
||
<div class="r-splitter">
|
||
<div class="r-content">
|
||
|
||
<div id="block-nei-content">
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
<article data-history-node-id="3151">
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
<div>
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
<div class="c-item__subtitle">
|
||
Discovery opens possibilities for understanding glaucoma and new therapeutic strategies
|
||
</div>
|
||
|
||
|
||
<div class="c-item__date">
|
||
July 31, 2020
|
||
</div>
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
<div class="c-item__tag c-item__tag--topic">
|
||
<a href="/about/news-and-events/news?topic=12" hreflang="en">Glaucoma</a>
|
||
<a href="/about/news-and-events/news?topic=349" hreflang="en">Neuroscience</a>
|
||
<a href="/about/news-and-events/news?topic=364" hreflang="en">Regenerative Medicine</a>
|
||
<a href="/about/news-and-events/news?topic=41" hreflang="en">Stem Cells</a>
|
||
</div>
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
<div class="c-item__tag c-item__tag--research-type">
|
||
<a href="/about/news-and-events/news?research=25" hreflang="en">Basic Research</a>
|
||
</div>
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
<div class="c-item__tag c-item__tag--source">
|
||
<a href="/about/news-and-events/news?source=123" hreflang="en">NEI</a>
|
||
</div>
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
<div class="o-news__content">
|
||
|
||
<div class="c-image c-image--has-caption c-image--left">
|
||
<div class="c-image__src">
|
||
<img src="https://www.nei.nih.gov/sites/default/files/styles/small/public/2020-07/UMD-Bernstein-on.jpg?itok=SvV9wBdf" alt="Microscopy image in blue and green showing mouse optic nerve" width="400" height="400">
|
||
</div>
|
||
<div class="c-image__caption">
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
<p>Mouse optic nerve, showing progenitors becoming myelinating cells.</p>
|
||
|
||
|
||
</div>
|
||
</div>
|
||
|
||
<div class="c-text">
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
<p>A National Eye Institute-funded study has identified a type of stem cell called a neural progenitor cell, in a region of the optic nerve, which connects the eye to the brain. The optic nerve becomes damaged in open-angle glaucoma, a leading cause of visual impairment in the U.S. Future studies of these neural progenitor cells may help explain how glaucoma develops and may lead to new therapies to treat it. The report on animal and human findings appears online July 28, 2020 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.</p><p>“Prior to our study, the optic nerve was not known to have stem cells, suggesting a limited ability of this tissue to repair itself,” said primary investigator Steven Bernstein, M.D., Ph.D., professor of Ophthalmology and research chief, Lab of Molecular Research in the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore.</p><p>“As it turns out, neural progenitor cells are in human optic nerve tissue at birth and they stick around for decades, helping to keep the axons that form the optic nerve healthy,” he said.</p><p>The researchers homed in on a narrow band of tissue called the optic nerve lamina. No more than 1 mm long, the lamina straddles the light-sensitive retina at the back of the eye and the optic nerve that extends to the brain to produce vision. The lamina is a transition zone, through which the axons of neurons called retinal ganglion cells pass. The axons extend from the eye and bind together to form the optic nerve. Axons emerging from the eye are unmyelinated, meaning that they lack the myelin sheath that surrounds nerve axons and acts as a kind of wire insulation. The axons become myelinated after passing through the optic nerve lamina.</p><p>Using a technique that images cells and structures in living tissue, researchers discovered that the optic nerve lamina of both humans and rodents contained a vascularized niche structure that’s unique to the region where stem cells form. The niche lacks specific proteins that form a typical blood-brain barrier, allowing communication with surrounding tissue, and offering a nurturing environment for stem cells. Antibody and gene expression studies evaluating specific protein markers of neural progenitor cells confirmed their presence.</p><p>“It took 52 trials to grow the optic nerve lamina region neural progenitor cells in culture,” said Bernstein, adding that these “stem cells are like New Yorkers. They need crowded places to thrive and relax.” At last the team identified a mix of growth factors and other culture conditions conducive for neural progenitor cells to grow and replicate. These progenitor cells eventually differentiated into several neural cell types, including glial cells, which are known to be important for cell repair and cell replacement in different brain regions.</p><p>When cultured, the optic nerve lamina region-isolated cells also formed smooth-walled globes called neurospheres, structures unique to neural progenitor stem cells.</p><p>Studies using genetically modified (transgenic) mice enabled the researchers to selectively localize the neural progenitor cell activity. By tagging gene expression, the scientists were able to identify cell type as the cells divided and matured. Transgenic mice that were designed to lose neural progenitor cells developed optic nerve abnormalities, including the thinning of the myelin sheath that normally covers the optic nerve axons after passing through the lamina.</p><p>Studies of human optic nerve tissue from donors ages 7 months to 71 years indicated that the population of optic nerve lamina region neural progenitor cells declines as people age. “When you look at a 9-year-old or a 20-year-old, they have huge numbers of these cells, and then they start to go away. By age 70, there’s none,” Bernstein said. The discovery that humans have an age-depletable niche of optic nerve lamina stem cells could help explain why people become more vulnerable to glaucoma as they age, and why over time they often stop responding to standard glaucoma therapies that involve lowering intraocular pressure.</p><p>In follow-up investigations, Bernstein plans to use transgenic mice to see if depleting the neural progenitor cells at early ages contributes to glaucoma severity. He also plans to study the role of neural progenitor cells in repairing damage to the optic nerve.</p><p>“In glaucomatous disease, do you first have disease resistance because of the progenitor cells, and as these cells are used up, do you get an acceleration of the disease process? If we could identify the cocktail of growth factors that these cells secrete, could that potentially be used to enable retinal ganglion cells to increase their resistance to glaucoma and to stress as one ages?” he added.</p><p> </p><p>The work was supported by NEI grant <a>R01EY015304, and by a National Institutes of Health shared instrument grant 1S10RR26870-1.</a></p><p>For more information about glaucoma, visit <a href="/learn-about-eye-health/eye-conditions-and-diseases/glaucoma">https://www.nei.nih.gov/learn-about-eye-health/eye-conditions-and-diseases/glaucoma</a></p><p><strong>References:</strong></p><p>Bernstein, SL; Guo, Y; Kerr, C; Fawcett, RJ; Stern, JH; Temple, S; Mehrabian, Z. “The optic nerve lamina region is a neural progenitor cell niche.” Jul 28, 2020. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2001858117">https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2001858117</a></p><p> </p><p>##</p><p>This press release describes a basic research finding. Basic research increases our understanding of human behavior and biology, which is foundational to advancing new and better ways to prevent, diagnose, and treat disease. Science is an unpredictable and incremental process— each research advance builds on past discoveries, often in unexpected ways. Most clinical advances would not be possible without the knowledge of fundamental basic research.</p><p>NEI leads the federal government’s research on the visual system and eye diseases. NEI supports basic and clinical science programs to develop sight-saving treatments and address special needs of people with vision loss. For more information, visit <a href="/">https://www.nei.nih.gov</a>.</p><p>About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation’s medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit <a href="https://www.nih.gov">https://www.nih.gov/</a>.</p><p>NIH…Turning Discovery Into Health®</p>
|
||
|
||
|
||
</div>
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
<div class="c-contact">
|
||
<h2 class="c-contact__heading">Contact</h2>
|
||
<div class="c-contact__label c-contact__name"><strong>Kathryn DeMott</strong></div>
|
||
<div class="c-contact__label c-contact__email">
|
||
<a href="mailto:neinews@nei.nih.gov">Email</a>
|
||
</div>
|
||
<div class="c-contact__label c-contact__phone">301-496-5248</div>
|
||
</div>
|
||
|
||
</div>
|
||
|
||
|
||
</div>
|
||
|
||
</article>
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
</div>
|
||
|
||
|
||
</div>
|
||
<aside class="r-sidebar" role="complementary">
|
||
|
||
<div class="views-element-container" id="block-views-block-nei-sidebar-block-1">
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
<div>
|
||
<div class="js-view-dom-id-8d4f449e4dabf7c2a65869a472592109567c8cdaaca2161624863824e5da1c02 nei-sidebar">
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
</div>
|
||
</div>
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
</div>
|
||
|
||
|
||
</aside>
|
||
</div>
|
||
</main>
|
||
|
||
<div class="r-footer">
|
||
<footer class="o-footer" role="contentinfo">
|
||
|
||
<div id="block-footer-2">
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
<div class="o-footer__row">
|
||
<div class="o-footer__group o-footer__group--logo"><a class="o-logo__link" href="/" rel="home" title="Home"><span class="o-logo__text">National Eye Institute</span></a>
|
||
<ul class="o-menu-social">
|
||
<li class="o-menu-social__item"><a class="o-menu-social__link o-menu-social__link--facebook outlink-ignore" href="https://www.facebook.com/NationalEyeInstitute">Facebook</a></li>
|
||
<li class="o-menu-social__item"><a class="o-menu-social__link o-menu-social__link--twitter outlink-ignore" href="https://twitter.com/NatEyeInstitute">Twitter</a></li>
|
||
<li class="o-menu-social__item"><a class="o-menu-social__link o-menu-social__link--linkedin outlink-ignore" href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/national-eye-institute-nei">LinkedIn</a></li>
|
||
<li class="o-menu-social__item"><a class="o-menu-social__link o-menu-social__link--youtube outlink-ignore" href="https://www.youtube.com/user/neinih">YouTube</a></li>
|
||
</ul>
|
||
|
||
<p> </p>
|
||
</div>
|
||
|
||
<div class="o-footer__group o-footer__group--contact">
|
||
<h2 class="o-footer__title">Contact NEI</h2>
|
||
|
||
<ul class="o-menu-footer">
|
||
<li class="o-menu-footer__item"><a class="o-menu-footer__link" href="/contact-us/">Contact Us</a></li>
|
||
<li class="o-menu-footer__item"><a class="o-menu-footer__link" href="https://www.nih.gov/about-nih/visitor-information">Visit NIH</a></li>
|
||
<li class="o-menu-footer__item"><a class="o-menu-footer__link" href="https://list.nih.gov/cgi-bin/wa.exe?SUBED1=insidenei&A=1">Get Email Updates from NEI</a></li>
|
||
</ul>
|
||
</div>
|
||
|
||
<div class="o-footer__group o-footer__group--policies">
|
||
<h2 class="o-footer__title">Policies</h2>
|
||
|
||
<ul class="o-menu-footer">
|
||
<li class="o-menu-footer__item"><a class="o-menu-footer__link" href="/accessibility-information">Accessibility</a></li>
|
||
<li class="o-menu-footer__item"><a class="o-menu-footer__link" href="https://www.nih.gov/nondiscrimination-notice-language-assistance-services">Information in Other Languages</a></li>
|
||
<li class="o-menu-footer__item"><a class="o-menu-footer__link" href="/nei-website-privacy-policy">Privacy</a></li>
|
||
<li class="o-menu-footer__item"><a class="o-menu-footer__link" href="/freedom-information-act">Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)</a></li>
|
||
<li class="o-menu-footer__item"><a class="o-menu-footer__link" href="/disclaimers">Disclaimers</a></li>
|
||
<li class="o-menu-footer__item"><a class="o-menu-footer__link" href="/web-policies ">Web Policies</a></li>
|
||
<li class="o-menu-footer__item"><a class="o-menu-footer__link" href="https://www.hhs.gov/vulnerability-disclosure-policy/index.html ">Vulnerability Disclosure</a></li>
|
||
</ul>
|
||
</div>
|
||
|
||
<div class="o-footer__group o-footer__group--employees">
|
||
<h2 class="o-footer__title">For NEI Employees</h2>
|
||
|
||
<ul class="o-menu-footer">
|
||
<li class="o-menu-footer__item"><a class="o-menu-footer__link" href="https://intranet.nei.nih.gov">Intranet</a></li>
|
||
<li class="o-menu-footer__item"><a class="o-menu-footer__link" href="https://intranet.nei.nih.gov/hr/Pages/emergency.aspx">Emergency Information</a></li>
|
||
<li class="o-menu-footer__item"><a class="o-menu-footer__link" href="https://ned.nih.gov/search/search.aspx">NIH Staff Directory</a></li>
|
||
</ul>
|
||
</div>
|
||
</div>
|
||
|
||
<div class="o-footer__row">
|
||
<div class="o-footer__full o-footer__full--parent">
|
||
<ul class="o-menu-footer o-menu-footer--swing">
|
||
<li class="o-menu-footer__item"><a class="o-menu-footer__link" href="https://www.nih.gov/">NIH.gov</a></li>
|
||
<li class="o-menu-footer__item"><a class="o-menu-footer__link" href="https://hhs.gov/">HHS.gov</a></li>
|
||
<li class="o-menu-footer__item"><a class="o-menu-footer__link" href="https://usa.gov/">USA.gov</a></li>
|
||
</ul>
|
||
</div>
|
||
</div>
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
</div>
|
||
|
||
|
||
</footer>
|
||
</div>
|
||
|
||
</div>
|
||
|
||
</div>
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
<div class="c-lb-wrapper" id="lb-wrapper" aria-hidden="true">
|
||
<div class="c-lb-overlay" tabindex="-1"></div>
|
||
<div role="dialog" class="c-lb" id="lb">
|
||
<div class="c-lb-header">
|
||
<button class="c-lb-close-btn"><span class="c-lb-close-btn-text">Close</span><span class="c-lb-close-btn-text times" aria-hidden="true">×</span></button>
|
||
</div>
|
||
<figure class="c-lb-figure">
|
||
<figcaption class="c-lb-caption"></figcaption>
|
||
</figure>
|
||
</div>
|
||
</div>
|
||
|
||
<script src="/sites/default/files/js/js_agazM-qm5cOcplNZo9kNIWFtUrwt0V1xgAKtLyM44Us.js?scope=footer&delta=0&language=en&theme=nei&include=eJxdjEEOgCAMBD-E9kmkYrOpqdQAMerr5eBBvUx29jCp8HUKQOkZAe4wiY1B6Pj7yAsf33MNmZvuEq0nojnPmkFvCVmUYD6xDTUV3Vq9ATUbLxk"></script>
|
||
<script src="/themes/custom/nei/js/scripts.js?sraguf"></script>
|
||
|
||
</body>
|
||
</html>
|