Seek blindness treatment for algae

Cloning green algae to produce light-sensitive proteins can provide effective measures to treat certain blindness diseases.

What will happen if you find a treatment for visual impairment in unicellular algae?

In a study recently published in Nature, a group of scientists were able to restore light sensitivity to blind mice using a protein extracted from algae belonging to the Chlamydomonas strain.Chlamydomonas attract special attention because they are light-oriented - they can follow light sources to support photosynthesis . This makes scientists eager to find out which genetic causes caused the phenomenon. They discovered a gene sequence that stores information to produce light-sensitive proteins. A group of researchers at Friedrich Miescher Institute (Switzerland), led by Dr. Botond Roska, removed these genes and put them in the eyes of blind mice. What is observed is the surprising behavioral changes that prove that the mice have regained their light sensitivity.

The light-sensitive protein in the single-celled Chlamydomonas can neutralize the effects of certain blindness diseases.(Photo: Dartmouth University / Electron micrograph)

Dr. Roska has a wise argument that makes his research stand out : 'Imagine you are speaking in a large room, but only the people in the first row can hear you. '. The people in the first row that he refers to are the outer layer including the cones and the rod cells of the eye - these are light-sensitive cells located at the base of the retina and are the first complex cell layer. Transmitting information from the eye to the brain. It is this cell layer that transmits the information obtained to the next class. When the first cell layer is damaged due to diseases such as retinal degeneration or retinal pigmentation, the eye becomes blind even when most of the complex cell layers remain active. According to Dr. Roska's description, a visually impaired 'looks like a covered camera'.

Dr. Roska and his colleagues decided to take the second cell layer as a target to put the algae-cloned genes with the 'volume boost' effort so that the second row could receive information from the row. The first seat was 'deaf', which was then passed to the audience.

To test the effectiveness of the method, two groups of mice were brought to the experiment, a normal group had one blind group. They are placed in a dark cage for about half an hour before the lights are turned on. When the lights were on, normal mice became more active and ran around the cage, while the blind mice remained silent. When they were treated with the gene of Chlamydomonas and repeated the experiment, they had similar reactions to normal mice.This suggests that blind mice were able to recognize the difference between light and darkness.

It is then necessary to test the sensitivity of newly restored mice to see if they are only capable of distinguishing changes in light intensity or being able to identify specific shapes. To do this, the researchers placed mice in front of a screen the size of their bodies and showed them the lines with different widths on the screen. Through observation, the mice can actually recognize the shape. Surprisingly, they can track lines that are twice as large as a normal mouse can recognize.

The next step, Dr. Roska and colleagues will attempt to restore function to the light receiving bodies. Eyes with good eyesight can be obtained on average, the information obtained from the cell that receives the increased intensity as well as decreased is called the 'On' or 'Off' cells. The gene of Chlamydomonas only works with 'On' cells but although a protein extracted from a single microorganism can also restore the 'Off' cell .

Although the results are very impressive, it is still necessary for the method to be applied on humans.

The biggest challenge of this therapy is to be effective for high light intensity. The human eye has a complex structure, in which up to 40 different genes are able to adapt to many different light intensity. Therefore, it is necessary to search for more sensitive light-binding agents for different light intensities, or to create a special type of eyeglasses that helps to focus light like an automatic camera.

However, Dr. Roska's research is still very promising in treating a disease for many people that is incurable.