German biologist studies fish to cure human eye problems

By Friederike Marx Jul 11, 2011, 19:08 GMT

Heidelberg, Germany - A German biologist is probing the eyes of fish in the hope that their regenerative abilities will one day be of use in treating eye ailments in people. He is using money from an academic prize to pursue his work.

Fish have eyes that are very similar to those of humans, with the crucial difference that fish eyes keep on growing throughout their lives, while human eyes come into the world at birth at their ultimate full size.

Joachim Wittbrodt watches over 50,000 fish in more than 3,500 aquaria at the University of Heidelberg, in south-western Germany.

The biologist's interest extends to the eyes of vertebrates in general, although fish are his specialty, and he hopes that his research into how fish eyes are formed could one day lead to helping human eyes grow back parts that have become damaged.

'Fish are ideal. They can be kept in large numbers and their eyes are built up in much the same way as with people,' says Wittbrodt, who loved fishing as a youngster.

Human eyes too have a type of cell with the ability to regenerate. 'We are now testing this repair ability on fish eyes, and perhaps the results will benefit ophthalmology in the longer term, for example with damage to the retina,' he says.

Wittbrodt and his colleagues at the highly regarded university have developed a special microscope, with which they can monitor embryonic development in the fish from a single cell to the fully evolved fish.

The researchers, who are attached to the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), then use computing technology to speed up and track the development. Initially it all looks like a ball in which the cells meander around apparently aimlessly. Suddenly, as though following a command given in secret, certain cells migrate to the core. The spine evolves slowly, other cells move up or down, forming the head or tail.

From his research into the Medaka fish, a Japanese species, Wittbrodt has identified core genes that cause the eye to be formed, discovering that cells in the embryo are programmed at an early stage to create the sight organ and move to their appointed location.

The research is using the 250,000 euros (358,000 dollars) he received from a Heidelberg research foundation to fund a post-doctoral assistant looking into stem cell research.

'This co-researcher aims to concern himself more intensively with the development of the cornea,' he says, confident that the results of the study will be of benefit to the university and hopefully to others in the wider afield.