New Tool Developed to Determine Age of Eye Cells in Breakthrough for Personalized Eye Disease Treatments
Scientists from Stanford University have developed a groundbreaking tool that can determine the age of eye cells without invasive sampling of regenerative tissue. This new development could revolutionize treatments for eye diseases by making them more personalized and targeted.
The research team utilized a technique commonly used for analyzing eye fluid and adapted it to determine the age of eye cells. By analyzing almost 6,000 proteins in the eye fluid, the scientists were able to trace them back to the cells in the eye. Out of these proteins, 26 were collectively linked to eye aging. This breakthrough was made possible through the use of an artificial intelligence (AI) system that was trained on the eye fluid of 46 healthy patients, allowing their ages to be cross-referenced.
In subsequent tests, the AI system successfully predicted the age of individuals based on their eye fluid with a small margin of error. This non-invasive method could potentially provide valuable insights into the aging process of eye cells and aid in the development of more targeted therapies.
“The first step in developing any kind of successful therapy is understanding the molecules,” said ophthalmologist Vinit Mahajan from Stanford University. By establishing an eye-aging clock, researchers gained a better understanding of how specific eye diseases can accelerate cell aging.
The team further analyzed eye fluid from 62 patients with various eye diseases and found that certain proteins indicated higher levels of aging. For example, patients with early-stage diabetic retinopathy were predicted to be approximately 12 years older based on the tests compared to healthy patients. In the case of uveitis, the inflammation inside the eye, the aging jump was close to 30 years.
Using a novel approach called TEMPO (tracing expression of multiple protein origins), the scientists were able to trace the affected proteins back to the RNA that produced them, identifying the cells responsible for these diseases. Interestingly, the cells responsible for each disease varied, often differing from the cells typically targeted by treatments. This discovery opens up new opportunities for finding effective treatments for these eye diseases by focusing on previously unrecognized cell targets.
“At the molecular level, patients present different manifestations even with the same disease,” explained Mahajan. “With a molecular fingerprint like we’ve developed, we could pick drugs that work for each patient.”
One significant challenge in studying diseases in the eye and other essential parts of the body, such as the brain, is the difficulty in obtaining tissue samples without causing damage. These regions struggle to regenerate lost cells, making non-invasive techniques crucial for advancing research and treatments.
Furthermore, the researchers believe that the techniques they have demonstrated in this study could be applied to other bodily fluids, offering valuable biomarkers for treating and potentially preventing the development of various diseases.
“It’s as if we’re holding these living cells in our hands and examining them with a magnifying glass,” said Mahajan. “We’re dialing in and getting to know our patients intimately at a molecular level, which will enable precision health and more informed clinical trials.”
The research has been published in Cell, highlighting its significance and potential implications for personalized medicine and targeted treatments in the field of ophthalmology.