Modelling Age-related Macular Degeneration using patient specific induced pluripotent stem cells

现在有可能将患者自己的皮肤细胞诱导成干细胞。然后，这些细胞可以被引导成为身体的任何细胞。这项技术允许研究疾病细胞，而不需要从病变组织(如视网膜)获取活检。该项目旨在利用患者的干细胞研究老年性黄斑变性，这些干细胞将被分化为受AMD影响的细胞。具体的遗传风险在这些细胞的生物学中的作用将被调查。

It is now possible to induce patient own skin cells to become stem cells. These cells can then be guided to become any cell of the body. This technique allows the study of disease cells without the need of obtaining biopsies from diseased tissue, such as the retina. This project aims to study age-related macular degeneration using patients’ stem cells, which will be differentiated into cells affected in AMD. The role of specific genetic risks in the biology of these cells will be investigated.