Regeneration of trabecular meshwork in primary open angle glaucoma by stem cell therapy: a new treatment approach

Abstract

: Primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) is a worldwide disease with IOP being an important risk factor for the disease. Pharmacological and surgical treatments have been mainly targeted on lowering IOP by decreasing aqueous humor production or increasing aqueous humor outflow. Stem cell therapies may open new frontiers in regenerative ophthalmology branch. In POAG there is a strong association with pathologic degeneration of the trabecular meshwork (TM) and regenerative cell-therapy approaches have been focused mainly on modulation of the degeneration. Many different adult stem cell types have been discovered in different parts of the eye such as the corneal endothelium (CE) and anterior non-filtering portion of the TM called Schwalbe’s ring region. These stem cells may supply new cells for the TM and may regenerate the TM structure thus reducing IOP and restore the homeostatic function of the eye. In this paper, we report the studies’ latest findings and present our perspective on approaches that seem promising in the management of POAG.