5 Topic Commentaries

Stem Cell Breakthrough for ARK

Stem Cell Breakthrough for ARK

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  Ula V. Jurkunas, MD

  Cornea and Ocular Surface Disease

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  Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts Eye and Ear

  Our first trial showed that CALEC was safe and the treatment was possible. Now we have this new data supporting that CALEC is more than 90 percent effective at restoring the cornea’s surface, which makes a meaningful difference in individuals with cornea damage that was considered untreatable.

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  Jerome Ritz, MD

  Hematology/Oncology and Cellular Therapy

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  Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School

  Our future hope is to set up an allogeneic manufacturing process starting with limbal stem cells from a normal cadaveric donor eye. This will hopefully expand the use of this approach and make it possible to treat patients who have damage to both eyes.

  Source
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  Markus H. Frank, MD

  Dermatology and Stem Cell Biology

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  Harvard Medical School

  Skin cells with ABCB5 normally contribute to skin development. But if we isolate ABCB5-positive cells from skin and put them in the context of an eye with LSCD, they appear to help repair corneal wounds – just like those from the corneal limbus.

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  Bruce R. Ksander, PhD

  Ocular Regenerative Medicine and Cornea Research

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  Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts Eye and Ear

  Limbal stem cells are very rare, and successful transplants are dependent on these rare cells. This finding will now make it much easier to restore the corneal surface. It’s a very good example of basic research moving quickly to a translational application.

  Source
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  Thomas V. Johnson III, MD, PhD

  Glaucoma and Optic Nerve Regeneration

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  Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

  The idea of restoring vision to someone who has lost it from optic nerve disease has been considered science fiction for decades. But in the last five years, stem cell biology has reached a point where it’s feasible.

  Source