Catalan scientists have created photosensitive molecules that can be used in a new generation of retinal molecular prostheses.

This is reported by local news agencies.

A unique technology allows you to restore lost vision in patients with degenerative diseases of the retina, such as retinitis pigmentosa or senile macular degeneration.

The new horizons in ophthalmology were told by the leaders of the PCB group Pau Gorostiza (Pau Gorostiza) and Dr. Amadeu Llebaria (Amadeu Llebaria) from the Catalan Institute of Chemical Research. According to their colleague Marina Gay, a senior researcher at the Laboratory of Spectrometry and Proteomics of the PCB, molecules "connected" to neurons are able to completely restore the retina's response to light.

Together with the leading universities of Spain, ICIQ, INA and CIBER-BBN, Gorostiza and Liobaria have tested a new group of medicinal molecules Targeted Covalent Photoswitches (target covalent photo switches, TCP) on cell cultures that change the structure under the influence of light.

TRS is a recent invention of chemists from the Catalan Institute of Bioengineering, which was originally intended to be used for the remote management of various implants. In other words, scientists were going to use light to turn on / off the various functions implanted in the body of devices.

As further studies showed, the connection of TRS with proteins of nerve cells allows to restore the natural reaction to daylight, that is, it can theoretically replace photosensitive cells lost as a result of degenerative diseases of the retina.

"Under normal conditions, the photosensitive cells of the eye-rods and cones-are activated in response to irradiation, transmitting signals to the remaining cells.

Our molecular prostheses are also activated by light - they change the molecular configuration, interacting with the optic nerve, which transmits the image directly to the brain, "explains Amadeu Liebararia.

The molecular prosthesis has already been tested on the retina of blind mice, where scientists have observed a clear reaction to light. Experiments in vitro confirm the possibility of restoring vision in people with degenerative diseases of the retina, but this will require more than one year of laboratory work and testing.

medbe. en.

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