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Funded Grants

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Stimulating Endogenous Regeneration of Photoreceptors as a Potential Cure for Blindness

Project Overview

Sight is the most precious sense, and patients suffering vision loss endure a devastating experience. Blindness often results from the gradual death of photoreceptors, the retinal cells that perceive light. Many researchers are attempting to replace lost cells through transplantation of stem cell-derived photoreceptors. However, integration of injected photoreceptors into the retina is extremely inefficient and the cost to derive photoreceptors from each patient would be considerable. There is therefore a pressing need to explore alternatives, but few groups around the world are tackling this problem. This team’s proposal positions them at the forefront of this effort. Rather than injecting cells into the eye, they will harness the regenerative potential of cells already present in the retina. In fish, these cells regenerate the entire retina after damage, but this capacity is hindered in mammals. The team is devising ways to reengage this ancient regenerative power to achieve retinal repair. The regenerative process in fish involves cell division followed by a change into a more primitive state, and maturation into new photoreceptors. Drs. Rod Bremner (Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum, Toronto) and Michel Cayouette (IRCM, Montreal) will activate division in the critical cell type and maximize production of new photoreceptors, Drs. Philippe Monnier and Don Weaver (TWRI, Toronto) will devise pharmaceutical strategies to promote survival and connectivity of newly generated photoreceptors, and Dr. Gautam Awatramani (U. Victoria, BC) will use state-of-the-art technology to optimize cell function. While this proposal focusses on restoring sight, the results already indicate that this approach will have broad relevance to CNS disease and injury.

Principal Investigator

Rod Bremner , LTRI Sinai Health System, University of Toronto

Team Members

Donald Weaver, Toronto Western Research Institute, University of Toronto

Michel Cayouette, Institut de Recherches Cliniques de Montréal, Université de Montréal

Gautam Awatramani, University of Victoria

Philippe Monnier, Toronto Western Research Institute, University of Toronto

Partners and Donors

Krembil Foundation

Project Complete

Stimulating Endogenous Regeneration of Photoreceptors as a Potential Cure for Blindness

  • Program Type

    Team grants

  • Area of research

    Central Nervous System

  • Disease Area

    Other

  • Competition

    2014 MIRI Team Grants

  • Province

    Ontario

  • Start Date

    2015

  • Total Grant Amount

    $1,387,869

  • Health Canada Contribution

    $693,935

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Suite 1600, Montreal, Quebec
H3B 4G7

+1 (514) 989-2989 info@braincanada.ca

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Territorial acknowledgement

The offices of Brain Canada Foundation are located on the traditional, ancestral territory of the Kanien'kehá:ka Peoples, a place which has long served as a site of meeting and exchange amongst nations. We honour and pay respect to elders past, present and emerging, and dedicate ourselves to moving forward in the spirit of partnership, collaboration, and reconciliation. In our work, we focus our efforts on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action, particularly those that pertain to improving health for Indigenous Peoples and that focus on advancing our own learning on Indigenous issues.

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