Emerging methods may help reveal health of individual eye cells

Researchers are studying ways to get a snapshot of all the genetic material that a single retina cell uses to make proteins, revealing the health of that eye cell. The research is being presented at the 2015 Annual Meeting of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) this week in Denver, Colo.

Using a mouse model, scientists looked at the rod cells in the retina, which function in low light. They used two different methods to evaluate the genetic material, one of which detected more genes in the cell but cost significantly higher.

Continued refinement of these techniques may result in a simple, cost-effective way for researchers to look at the health of individual eye cells in a person with retinal disease. Revealing how young cells are different from old cells or how healthy cells are different from diseased cells could provide the foundation for more effective eye treatments.

Abstract Title: Transcriptome profiling of single rod photoreceptors in the Rd1 mouse
Presentation Start/End Time: Thursday, May 7, 8:30 - 10:15am
Location: Exhibit Hall
Abstract Number: 5499 - B0058

Source: Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology