Mouse retina image wins science art prize

UC San Diego scientists investigating a major cause of blindness have created a feast for the eyes.

The image, a sparkling display of blue and yellow fluorescent molecules arrayed in a mouse retina, won first place in the “Beauty of Science” competition from the National Institutes of Health.

Wonkyu Ju, Keunyoung Kim and Mark Ellisman created the confocal microscope image for a study published last year in the journal Cell Death and Disease. The image shows a virus carrying a gene tagged with green fluorescent protein introduced into the eyes of 7-month-old mice.

The study investigated whether a nonpathogenic virus could effectively deliver therapeutic genes to retinal ganglion cells. These cells are destroyed in glaucoma, causing progressive and irreversible vision loss.

Image areas where the GFP has been produced glow yellow, indicating broad delivery to the retinal ganglion cells. The blue dots are produced by a marker for retinal ganglion cells called Brn3a.

“Past research has suggested that targeting these cells with gene therapy designed to prevent their death might slow progression of the disease,” study co-author Robert N. Weinreb, M.D. said in a statement. He is director of both the Hamilton Glaucoma Center and Shiley Eye Institute.

More than 3 million Americans have glaucoma, but only half know it, according to the Glaucoma Research Foundation. It’s the second leading cause of blindness globally, according to the World Health Organization.

bradley.fikes@sduniontribune.com

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