Human retinal immune cells grown inside mice
Chimeric model for study of human retinal microglia in vivo
Researchers will place human retinal immune cells into mice to see how they act after optic nerve injury, with the goal of helping people with retinal nerve damage.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R21 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Utah State Higher Education System--University of Utah NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Salt Lake City, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11262217 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
From my perspective as a patient, scientists will make blood-forming cells from human stem cells and introduce them into newborn mice so human microglia can develop in the mouse retina. They will map where those human cells settle and whether they change nearby retinal tissue. The team will read the activity of individual human cells using single-cell RNA sequencing and compare those patterns to human microglia. Then they will cause a well-known optic nerve injury in the mice to see how the human cells respond to retinal nerve damage.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: People with retinal ganglion cell injury or optic nerve disease, or individuals willing to donate blood or skin cells for creating patient-derived stem cells, would be most relevant to this work.
Not a fit: Patients seeking immediate treatment for vision loss or those with eye conditions unrelated to retinal nerve damage (for example, routine refractive errors or cataracts) are unlikely to benefit directly from this project.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could reveal how human retinal immune cells react to nerve injury and guide new treatments for optic nerve diseases like glaucoma or optic neuropathy.
How similar studies have performed: Related approaches transplanting human microglia-like cells into mouse brains have shown engraftment and informative results, but applying this specifically to the retina and testing responses to optic nerve injury is relatively new.
Where this research is happening
Salt Lake City, United States
- Utah State Higher Education System--University of Utah — Salt Lake City, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Vetter, Monica L — Utah State Higher Education System--University of Utah
- Study coordinator: Vetter, Monica L
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.