GENE THERAPY FOR TREATMENT OF RETINAL DEGENERATION

细胞因子进入视网膜下间隙的传递可能在视网膜下间隙中起作用。 在视网膜变性疾病的治疗中起重要作用， 如老年性黄斑变性和某些形式的视网膜炎 色素沉着。 这些疾病，构成了成人的主要原因， 失明的发病源于多种遗传来源， 可用的治疗方案。视网膜细胞移植，以及 由于目前正在进行基因递送以恢复失去的功能， 尽可能在实验室和临床环境中进行研究 治疗。 这项建议将两种程序的要素结合起来， 目的是将药物长期输送到视网膜下空间。 初步 研究表明，单剂量注射细胞因子到眼睛中， 显示短期预防大鼠疾病中光感受器变性 模型 为了实现长期交付和预防，我们 建议使用基因修饰的细胞， 所需的细胞因子对外部药理学信号的影响。 述的方法 这些主要的神经营养细胞因子的作用可能是 同时在感光细胞和视网膜色素上皮中 （RPE）。 我们认为，这些生物分子引起上调， 光感受器代谢，维持营养不良前的活性水平， 基因表达。 在RPE中，上调阻止去分化 转化为伤口愈合表型， 免疫隔离血视网膜屏障。 我们打算利用基因 改变移植模型来研究这两个假设， 光感受器拯救和细胞代谢。 的长期目标 本项目旨在提供组织工程治疗， 适用于不同病因的视网膜营养不良。

The delivery of cytokines into the subretinal space may play an important role in the treatment of retinal degenerative diseases such as age related macular degeneration and certain forms of retinitis pigmentosa. These diseases, which constitute the leading cause of adult onset blindness spring from a variety of genetic sources, and have few available treatment options. Transplantation of retinal cells, as well as delivery of genes to restore lost function are currently being investigated both in the laboratory and clinical setting as possible treatments. This proposal combines elements of both procedures with the goal of long-term drug delivery into the subretinal space. Preliminary research has shown that single dose injection of cytokines into the eye show short-term prevention of photoreceptor degeneration in rat disease models. In order to achieve long-term delivery and prevention we propose the use of genetically modified cells which can overexpress the desired cytokines upon external pharmacological signaling. The method of action of these primarily neurotrophic cytokines could be simultaneously in the photoreceptor and the retinal pigmented epithelium (RPE). We propose that these biomolecules cause upregulation in photoreceptor metabolism, maintaining viable pre-dystrophic levels of gene expression. In the RPE upregulation prevents dedifferentiation into a wound-healing phenotype allowing maintenance of the immunoisolating blood-retina barrier. We intend to use the genetically altered transplant model to investigate these two hypotheses, following photoreceptor rescue and cellular metabolism. The long term goal of this project is to provide tissue engineering therapy which can be applicable to retinal dystrophies with differing etiology.