动物实验,视网膜损伤 z-bo 2020-09-29 354

　　Bionics often gives mankind a lot of scientific inspiration. According to national statistics, China is the country with the largest number of blind people in the world, with about 5 million people accounting for 18% of the world's blind people, and retinal damage is an important cause of blindness. There is a small zebrafish that can repair itself, especially after blindness. Scientists are studying this fish and hope to get inspiration from it to treat blindness. If progress is made, it will make a big difference in ophthalmology. By studying how zebrafish restore the retina, researchers can solve the problem of human blindness.

　　The zebrafish is only a few centimeters long, but it has amazing functions. They can regenerate the damaged heart and brain. The fins can be cut and regenerated. If they are blind, they can see the light again.

　　Scientists are studying the powerful ability to cure blindness. Vanderbilt scientists discovered the secret of zebrafish regenerating retina. Restoring this skill in humans can bring hope to patients who are blinded by retinal and other injuries. James Burton, a professor of biological sciences at Vanderbilt University who was in charge of the research, said: “The more I know about the zebrafish’s ability to regenerate most tissues and organs, the more interested I will be. In particular, repair damaged ones. It only takes 3-4 weeks for the retina to see light again.

　　Zebrafish is a small freshwater fish named after a striped pattern. It has always been the main subject of scientific research. It grows well and grows rapidly. The whole body is transparent at a young age. Therefore, the human body is very useful for studying organs and has the ability to regenerate. It is often used to study human genes because it has 70% similar genes to humans. The cell composition of the retina is almost the same as that of humans. It has three layers of nerve cells: light detection sensor cells, signal collection level cells and ganglion cells that transmit information to the brain. Said: "Therefore, I am more and more interested in why humans can regenerate fish when they cannot regenerate damaged retinas. In modern society, retinal damage is the main cause of blindness. The causes of retinal damage include age-related retinas. Blurred vision or leukoplakia caused by aging, diabetic retinopathy, ocular vascular disease caused by diabetes, retinitis pigmentosa, and gene-induced retinitis including the retina. Color point deterioration. Retinopathy caused by disease or injury is permanent. Because the human retina cannot regenerate.

　　Burton and his team members are very interested in how the zebrafish retina begins to regenerate. Previous studies have shown that it may have started with the growth genes of degenerated photosensitive cells in zebrafish. The spark stem cells of the eye begin to differentiate (return to the early growth stage) and then differentiate into new retinal cells. But Mahesh Lao, a student at Parton University, suggested that the aminobutyric acid neurotransmitter (the chemical information in the brain) can focus on reducing neural activity, while the aminobutyric acid in the mouse brain. He said that it was discovered that it can regulate the activity of stem cells. ..

　　Team members tested Laos' views with a zebra fish. Leave it in the dark for a few days, expose it to strong light, and then inject GABA. At the same time, GABA was injected into zebrafish with normal vision. They found that blind zebrafish could not recover their retinas normally after GABA injection, but normal zebrafish could. This indicates that low concentrations of GABA can regenerate the retina.

　　This discovery was published in this issue of "Stem Cell Report".

　　Barton said: "We use fish as a model to better discover the causes and mechanisms of retinal regeneration, and hope to apply it to humans one day."

　　This group has already begun to test GABA guesswork with mice. If so, the results will be used in humans to test whether GABA can stimulate retinal regeneration.

　　If this study proves to be useful to humans, then 40 million blind people will appreciate this little zebrafish.