Restoring Vision to the Blind with Chemical Photoswitches

Chem Rev. 2018 Nov 14;118(21):10748-10773. doi: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.7b00723. Epub 2018 Jun 6.

Abstract

Degenerative retinal diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa (RP) and age-related macular degeneration (AMD) affect millions of people around the world and lead to irreversible vision loss if left untreated. A number of therapeutic strategies have been developed over the years to treat these diseases or restore vision to already blind patients. In this Review, we describe the development and translational application of light-sensitive chemical photoswitches to restore visual function to the blind retina and compare the translational potential of photoswitches with other vision-restoring therapies. This therapeutic strategy is enabled by an efficient fusion of chemical synthesis, chemical biology, and molecular biology and is broadly applicable to other biological systems. We hope this Review will be of interest to chemists as well as neuroscientists and clinicians.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Azo Compounds / therapeutic use*
  • Blindness / pathology
  • Blindness / therapy*
  • Gene Expression Regulation
  • Humans
  • Light
  • Optogenetics
  • Photochemical Processes
  • Retinal Degeneration / metabolism
  • Retinal Degeneration / pathology
  • Retinal Degeneration / therapy*
  • Retinal Neurons / drug effects
  • Retinal Neurons / pathology
  • Retinal Neurons / radiation effects
  • Signal Transduction

Substances

  • Azo Compounds
  • azobenzene