A Visionary Map

Maps are one of humanity's most valuable inventions. They help us to explain our world and find our way through it. Scientists have now produced a complete map of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE). The RPE is a single layer of cells that separates the retina from the rest of the eye, and it has critical roles in eye health and vision. Generated with artificial intelligence software, the map is the first to include every cell in the human RPE. Using their map, the researchers found five types of RPE cells arranged in rings around the retina's centre. These five cell types are affected differently by eye diseases, and by studying them, scientists may be able to design precise treatments for different parts of the retina. Here, we see a dome-shaped lesion beneath the retina. RPE cells (white) are pushed upwards, which damages vision by displacing the retina cells that detect light (pink). Although this type of lesion is found across the retina, it’s less common in RPE cells found between the centre and edge of the retina. This middle region of the retina may be more resistant to damage.

Written by Henry Stennett

Henry Stennett

Writer

Henry is a science communicator at Cancer Research UK and a freelance writer. He used to research microbiology but now he’s got the writing bug.

• Video from work by Davide Ortolan and colleagues
• Ocular and Stem Cell Translational Research Section, National Eye Institute, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA
• Video copyright held by original authors; reproduction permitted by PNAS
• Published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS), May 2022