Explore recent research in retinal sciences from Retina4Future members and publications emerging from the Action's collaborative network.
Publications List
Research on retinal and vision sciences published by Retina4Future members.
Published 2026 August 12
· Nature Communications
Photostimulation improves maturation of human photoreceptors
Canan Celiker, Eva Hruba, Konstantina Kyriakou, Birthe Dorgau, Francisco Molina Gambin, Kamila Weissova, Edwin van Oosten, Lucie Englmaier, Nadezda Vaskovicova, Michael A. Savage, Gerrit Hilgen, Evelyne Sernagor, Alejandro Garanto, Majlinda Lako, and Tomas Barta
Lay Summary
The retina is the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye that allows us to see. To study how the human retina develops and how retinal diseases arise, scientists can grow small, three-dimensional retina-like tissues, called retinal organoids, from human stem cells. However, these laboratory-grown retinas often remain immature, limiting their usefulness for studying disease, testing new treatments, and developing cell-based therapies.
In this study, we asked whether light itself could help retinal organoids mature. We exposed retinal organoids to different patterns of light and found that rhythmic flickering light was effective in promoting the development of photoreceptors, the cells responsible for detecting light. Light stimulation improved their structure, increased the expression of genes and proteins required for vision, and strengthened communication within the developing retinal tissue. Photostimulated organoids also showed stronger responses to light, indicating improved functional maturation.
Our findings suggest that light provides an important differentiational signal for the human retina. Light stimulation offers a simple and non-invasive approach to improve the maturation of retinal organoids grown in the laboratory. More mature retinal organoids could provide better models for studying retinal diseases and testing new treatments, and may also support the development of photoreceptors for future cell-based therapies.
Published 2026 August 12
· Communications Biology
Long-term daily light exposure boosts human retinal organoid differentiation
Edwin M. van Oosten, Wietske Kieboom, Anita D. M. Hoogendoorn, Stijn L. Berendsen, Julia Haerkens, Marieke M. E. van der Maden, Eva Hruba, Devin Veerman, Anja Bufe, Seba Almedawar, Andries D. van der Meer, Tomas Barta, Rob W. J. Collin, and Alejandro Garanto
Lay Summary
Our eyes contain specialized cells that capture light and send visual information to the brain. This happens at the back of the eye in a tissue called the retina. To better understand why these cells become damaged in vision diseases, we can grow tiny mini-retinas in the laboratory using stem cells. These mini-retinas provide a powerful way to study disease and test potential treatments. However, they often develop slowly and do not fully resemble the human eye.
One possible reason is that these tissues are usually grown in complete darkness, even though the real retina is constantly exposed to light. In our study, we investigated whether giving these mini-retinas a daily “daytime” period could help them develop better. We exposed them to light for six hours each day and compared them with organoids that remained in the dark. We found that regular light exposure helped the mini-retinas mature more quickly. The light-exposed mini-retinas increased the number of light-sensitive cells, and light exposure did not appear to be harmful to these cells.
These results suggest that providing a simple daily light cycle can help these mini-retinas develop more quickly and potentially contribute to creating models that are closer to what happens in the human eye. These advances will allow us to study disease better and accelerate therapy development.
Published 2026 May 28
· Journal · Year: Molecular Therapy Advances
mRNA delivery to the retina restores REP1 function in choroideremia
Luisa de Lemos, Pedro Antas, Cláudia Carvalho, Mariana Castro, Diogo Bruno, Ana F. Fonseca, Shuvajit Rakshit, and Miguel C. Seabra
Lay Summary
A new study explores a non-viral approach to gene delivery for choroideremia
Current gene therapies for inherited retinal diseases (IRDs) typically use viral vectors, such as adeno-associated viruses (AAVs), to deliver therapeutic genes. Although these approaches have shown promising results, they can be costly, have limited cargo capacity, and may trigger immune responses. A new study from the Miguel Seabra Lab at the Champalimaud Foundation and NOVA Medical School in Lisbon, Portugal, investigates the potential of lipid nanoparticle (LNP)-mediated mRNA delivery as a non-viral strategy for gene replacement in choroideremia (CHM), a rare X-linked IRD caused by mutations in the CHM gene.
The researchers investigated whether in vitro transcribed human CHM-mRNA packaged in LNPs could restore production of Rab escort protein-1 (REP1), the protein missing in CHM patients. Following subretinal administration, the mRNALNP treatment efficiently targeted the affected cells, the retinal pigment epithelium and choroid, with CHM mRNA expression detectable for up to 15 days. Compared with AAV2 vectors, the treatment induced a lower, transient inflammatory response. Importantly, delivery of CHM-mRNA restored REP1 levels and corrected defects in Rab prenylation, a key cellular process regulated by REP1, in both CHM patient-derived retinal pigment epithelial cells and a mouse model of CHM. Retinal function also improved in CHM treated mice, as measured by electroretinography.
Together, these findings provide proof-of-concept that non-viral mRNA therapies can achieve biologically meaningful gene replacement in the retina and highlight the potential of non-viral mRNA delivery as an alternative platform for developing future therapies for IRDs such as choroideremia.
Publications acknowledging the contribution or support of COST Action CA24105.