- Scientists have achieved an incredible fact for science, they have successfully revived and restored the communication of neural cells of the human eye after death for the first time.
- The researchers developed a mechanism to compensate for this triggering factor and provide the flow of oxygen and nutrients.
- Measurements of photoreceptor activity showed that these cells could be revived.
Scientists from the University of Utah and the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, both centers belonging to the United States. They have achieved an incredible fact for science, have revived and restored the communication of neural cells in the human eye after death for the first time successfully.
Human eye cells: Researchers set out to assess the time interval and mechanism of neuronal death
It is widely recognized that the process of death involves the complete and irreversible absence of consciousness, breathing, circulatory activity, reaction to external stimuli and brain electrical activity. In this sense, as described in the study published on Wednesday, May 11, 2022 in the journal Naturethe tissue of the central nervous system (CNS) is one of the first to quickly lose its viability once blood circulation ceases, in this way, achieving its reactivation is really complex and even more so, restoring neuronal signaling.
This fact in turn has prevented this type of tissue has the potential to perform a transplant. Faced with this, the researchers set out to evaluate the time interval and the mechanism of neuronal death, as well as methods to try to restore viability using the retina of organ donor eyes as a model; specialized neurons are found in this tissue and responsible for converting light into electrical signals that are sent to the brain, called photoreceptors, which allow us to have vision.
In the first instance, after their study they confirmed that this type of neuronal tissue is characterized by rapid cell death and the triggering factor is the lack of oxygen and nutrients after the loss of blood circulation. Neural cells need a large amount of oxygen to function. and glucose that is transported from the blood, in fact, the brain is the organ with the greatest requirement for these substrates since its proper functioning is energetically very expensive, thus, its rapid decline is understandable.
The researchers developed a mechanism to compensate for this triggering factor
In this way, the researchers developed a mechanism to compensate for this triggering factor and provide the flow of oxygen and nutrients that is lost after death in the CNS. After this restoration, the retina was stimulated with light and the neuronal response in the macular photoreceptors of the human retina was measured up to 5 hours after death.
Here the magic was obtained. Measurements of photoreceptor activity showed that these cells could be revived, as well as their electrical communication after identifying a “b wave” that is characteristic of vision in living eyes. This shows that what was believed about the irreversible loss of this type of neuronal signaling in fact, it can be restored by certain methods, which could open a debate about the reversibility of brain death.
‘We were able to make retinal cells talk to each other, in the same way they do in the living eye to mediate human vision. Previous studies have restored very limited electrical activity in the eyes of organ donors, but this has never been achieved in the macula, and never to the extent that we have now shown,” says Frans Vinberg, lead author of the study. EurekAlert!.
Finally the findings found here They pave the way for new research that allows the results demonstrated to be evaluated and replicated, including in other types of neurons, to determine if this type of transplant may be possible in the future. Likewise, this allows us to have a more realistic model of these cells that can be applied to carry out studies of diseases such as blindness or even neurological pathologies.
“The scientific community can now study human vision in ways that simply aren’t possible with laboratory animals. We hope this will motivate organ donor societies, organ donors and eye banks by helping them understand the new and exciting possibilities that this type of research offers,” Vinberg describes in EurekAlert!.
Related Notes:
This is how “jaundice” works, the MOST obvious symptom of unknown childhood hepatitis
Cofepris approves new molecule to treat patients with Multiple Sclerosis in Mexico
[VIDEO] Doctor exposes the 10 most common mistakes when using a condom (all the time…