Isolation and transplantation of retinal stem cells

Patent Number: 7,514,259

This patent uses claim language associated with method of use, but is actually teaching what appears to be a new type of retinal stem cell.  The first independent claim reads:

"A method of repopulating photoreceptor cells of a mammal, said method comprising the steps of: providing neuroretina-derived retinal stem cells obtained from a neurosphere from a mammalian donor; and introducing said neuroretina-derived retinal stem cells locally into a retinal site, a subretinal space, or a vitreal cavity of an eye of a mammalian recipient, wherein said donor mammal and said recipient mammal are allogeneic or syngeneic, and whereby said photoreceptor cells repopulate a mammalian retina."

In the description of the invention it is stated that neural retinal tissue, but not the non-neuronal retinal pigment epithelium contains stem cells that are able to differentiate into photoreceptor expressing cells.

An interesting point regarding the biology of the putative stem cells covered is that they can be derived from not only neonates but also from donors 70 years and older.

This patent is different than patent 6,117,675 since the cells are derived from the non-pigmented epithelium.

View this patent on the USPTO website.