A framework that could help guide human stem cell-derived retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) to the retina to restore sight in glaucoma patients has been developed.

Currently, neurons in the retina are irreversibly lost in glaucoma, but scientists are working on new ways these neurons could be replaced through transplantation or reprogramming. This study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, focused on how stem cell-derived RGCs could be migrated into the ganglion cell layer using an engineered microenvironment. 

The results showed a 2.7-fold increase in donor RGC migration into the ganglion cell layer and a 3.3-fold increase in the displacement of newborn RGCs out of the inner nuclear layer using this model.