Biochemical
and Biotechnology -
Regenerated Eye Transplanted
Introduction
Eyes of the frogs can now be regenerated
from embryonic stem cells and transplanted into tadpoles,
where they function when the tadpole grows up a research
group at the University of Tokyo said. The success supports
expectations that the eye will become one of the first
organs used clinically in the emerging field of regenerative
medicine. For the experiments, the researchers excised
a mass of several thousand cells from a frog embryo,
added chemicals to induce the cell mass to differentiate
into the functional components of the eye, including
the lens and retina. Then they removed the left eye
from a tadpole and replaced it with this regenerated
eye.
The procedure was conducted on a group of 60 tadpoles.
Of that total, around 40 accepted the transplants and
10 tadpoles developed into frogs. When the 10 frogs
were exposed to light, the transplanted left eyes reacted
in the same way as the natural right eyes. Dissection
confirmed that the regenerated eyes had been accepted
by the animal's bodies and supplied with blood vessels
and nerves.
Contact for more
information
Science & Technology
Wing Embassy of India
2-2-11, Kudan Minami, Chiyoda-ku
Tokyo 102-0074, Japan
Tel: +81-3-3262-2391 to 97,
Fax: +81-3-3234-4866
E-mail:tandonus@hotmail.com
