Researchers from the Hubrecht Institute and UMC Utrecht recently used stem cells to grow tiny tear glands in a petri dish. As described in a study published in the journal Stem cells, the researchers are capable of the so-called crying organs of command.
They hope that by better understanding how cells in the glands of human tears produce tears, they may be able to cope with eye conditions including dry eye disease, which as well as tear gland cancers.
“Hopefully in the future, this type of organoid may even be transmitted to patients with non-functioning tear glands,” explained Marie Bannier-Hélaouët, a doctoral candidate at the Hubrecht Institute for Developmental Biology and Cell Examination. gas, in a press release.
The organs are built in vitro, in 3D suspension, from proliferating gas cells to form tear glands, which are located inside the upper eyelid. These glands only absorb water when we cry – a constant supply of fluid is essential for eye health, as it thickens the cornea and keeps bacteria away. In the worst cases, tear duct dysfunction can lead to blindness.
Exploring the complexity of the eye
The tear glands grown in a laboratory developed in Holland are made of one type of human tear gland cell, called a ductal. It allows the gland to cry in response to chemical stimuli such as noradrenaline, a neurotransmitter that sends a message from our neurons to our tear glands.
“Our eyes are always wet, like the tear glands in a basin,” Bannier-Hélaouët says. The cells shed tears inside the organoid, called the lumen. This causes it to rise like a balloon. The researchers use gland size as an indicator for tear production.
Mar CNET points out, this is not the first time a scientist has created human eye parts using stem cells – the 2018 John Hopkins University team created eyeball parts to study how we developed “trichromatic vision ”- the ability to see in red, blue and green.
The Dutch researchers say they would like to grow tear glands out of a wider array of cells. By doing this, they would gain a deeper understanding of what makes us cry, and how it is essential for eye health.