Zebrafish May Repair Serious Eye Conditions

Zebrafish May Repair Serious Eye Conditions

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120214170957.html

From previous studies it was found that zebrafish are able to regenerate
damaged retina cells, so researchers at the University of Michigan further
studied how the process worked. Daniel Goldman, a professor at
the University of Michigan’s Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience
Institute and the Department of Biological Chemistry, discovered
that heparin-binding epidermal-like growth factor (HB-EGF) is the
key that starts the repair process. When HB-EBF is released in the
zebrafish retina, it causes Muller glia cells to revert to a stem-cell state
which then produce new cells to repair the damage. The HB-EBF
stimulates the Muller cells even when the retina is not damaged.
The findings were published in Developmental Cell.

This article was interesting because they were able to isolate
the protein that is critical for retinal cell regeneration. The researchers
plan to study if HB-EGF can also work in mammals . I think this is
important because it may someday lead to treatments for human
eye conditions like age-related macular degeneration.