Developing photoreceptor repair for macular degeneration therapy.

There is no available treatment for vision loss in dry age-related macular degeneration, a leading cause of blindness in adults over 55 years of age. Vision loss occurs when retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) and cone photoreceptors degenerate, so transplanting them is a potential treatment to restore vision. Using a novel mouse cone and RPE transplantation model system to study cone-RPE interactions in a regenerative paradigm, we will characterize donor cone maturation over the long term, reveal age-related impact on regeneration efficacy, and identify cues in specific recipient cell types that promote functional vision repair.