New discovery may lead to treatment of certain types of blindness

Scientists have discovered how to make cells sensitive to light. The research was published in the science journal, Nature. A team of experts, led by Dr. Rob Lucas, from the University of Manchester and Professor Mark Hankins, Imperial College, London, United Kingdom, found that melanopsin made the cells photoreceptive, which meant that the protein was able to absorb light. <br><br>Dr. Lucas said, “We introduced melanopsin to cells that do not normally use it. We found that the cell became photosensitised and was able to produce a biological signal.” <br><br>Dr. Lucas, whose research concerns the effect light has on our daily rhythm, said that the classical view of how the eye sees is through photoreceptive cells in the retina called rods and cones.<br><br>For some years scientists have been exploring ways of restoring light detection to those blind people who have lost their rods and cones. An implication of this research would be that using melanopsin to make nerve cells in the eye photoreceptive may offer an entirely new approach to this problem. "It is quite remarkable that the activation of a single gene can create a functional photoreceptor," said co-author and leader of the London team, Professor Mark Hankins of Imperial College. <br><br>"It is an important proof of the principle, that melanopsin can make non-light sensitive cells receptive to light, and although not a cure, it could have applications in treating some forms of blindness," said Dr. Lucas. <br><br>Researchers also believe that defects in melanopsin action could be responsible for other human conditions, including some sorts of depression and insomnia.<br><br>The research team will collaborate with engineers at Imperial to develop a functional retinal prosthesis that would allow information from the light-responsive cells to be used by the brain to form images.