A Japanese team of researchers has developed a method of creating three-dimensional retinal tissue from human embryonic stem cells, according to a study published on Thursday in an electronic edition of British science journal Nature Communications.
The research team at the Kobe-based Riken Center for Developmental Biology and Sumitomo Chemical Co. hopes that their discovery will shed light on the retinal mechanism and eventually aid the treatment of incurable eye diseases.
One of the team members said the latest results on the ciliary margin — which has been confirmed to have stem cells producing photoreceptor and nerve cells that form the retina — will be useful in research aimed at finding a remedy for retinal disorders.