Scientists grow human lens in lab from stem cells
Researchers at Anglia Ruskin University and collaborators grew miniature human lens tissue from reprogrammed adult cells. The lab-grown structures resemble…
Researchers at Anglia Ruskin University have grown miniature human lens tissue from stem cells in a laboratory, a development that could help scientists study eye diseases and test medicines. The team said the structures closely resemble a natural human lens.
The work brings researchers a new way to examine developing lens tissue, which Professor Barbara Pierscionek said is difficult to obtain and study. The team also found that cells from the mini lenses could generate new lens-like structures.
How could the lab-grown lenses help eye research?
The miniature lenses could give researchers a model for testing medicines and investigating diseases that affect vision, the team said. They may also help scientists explore future regenerative treatments, though the work does not describe an available treatment for patients.
That distinction matters for people with cataracts and other eye conditions: the research points to a possible route for future study, not an immediate alternative to existing care. Cataracts occur when the eye’s lens becomes cloudy and can worsen over time. The source describes cataract surgery as replacing the cloudy lens with an artificial one to improve sight.
Researchers from Anglia Ruskin University, Cardiff University and the University of Osaka in Japan worked on the project. They used adult cells reprogrammed into a stem cell-like state, then developed a growth method that encouraged the cells to organize into lens-like structures.
What did the researchers find?
The authors said the lab-grown lenses had many of the key biological features found in real human lenses. They also observed that cells from the miniature structures could produce new lens-like structures, and that the lenses mimicked some natural regenerative processes seen during lens development.
“This is a major step forward as it is very difficult to obtain and study human eye lens tissue while it is developing,” said Pierscionek, from the Centre for Biomedicine and Health Innovation at Anglia Ruskin University.
She said the team had identified conditions that allowed the tissue to closely resemble a natural human lens. As the technology develops, she added, it could support medicine testing, improve understanding of diseases that affect vision and contribute to research into regenerative treatments.
The researchers described the process in the journal npj Regenerative Medicine. Their findings center on miniature tissue grown in the laboratory, with its potential use in research and treatment development still ahead.
