Prize for replacing animal use in sight-saving research

Dr Keith Martin at the Centre for Brain Repair was presented with the GlaxoSmithKline-sponsored £10k prize by Phil Willis MP, Chair of the House of Commons Innovation, Universities, Science and Skills Select Committee, at an award ceremony in London.

Dr Martin and his colleague Mr Thomas Johnson, a Gates scholar who is doing a PhD in brain repair, are investigating the potential of stem cells to protect vulnerable nerve cells in the injured retina. Their aim is to develop new treatments for glaucoma, the leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide, and other eye diseases. Until now, injecting cells into the eyes of anaesthetised animals has been the only way to understand the barriers that prevent the integration of transplanted stem cells into the retina. Dr Martin and Mr Johnson have pioneered a new method for retinal tissue culture that replaces the need for experiments on live animals.

Dr Martin explains: “We have developed a new technique which allows us to keep tissue from a rat’s eye alive for 17 days. This allows us to transplant stem cells onto living tissue in a controlled environment and test treatments to improve integration of the transplanted cells.

“We have shown that the cultured eye tissue remains healthy, maintains its layered architecture, and retains the ability to make new proteins. The tissue also responds to stem cell transplantation in a similar way to the eyes of living animals.”

As well as replacing the use of live animals, the new method has brought about an eight-fold reduction in the number of animals used, because eight sections of tissue can be obtained from one rat.

Mr Willis said: “Dr Keith Martin and his colleague Thomas Johnson are not only outstanding winners of the NC3Rs prize for reducing the use of animals in science, but their efforts have resulted in a significant breakthrough in the search for treatments of glaucoma and other eye diseases. The work of these outstanding scientists demonstrates graphically the value of engaging with the NC3Rs and that science can be enhanced, not hindered, by considering animal welfare issues.”

Because of the high quality of entries for the 3Rs Prize, the selection panel also awarded two Highly Commended prizes. One of the recipients was Dr Jenny Morton, University of Cambridge, for a publication describing a refinement of the tests to measure cognitive deficits in mice used for neurodegenerative disease research.

The National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research is an independent, scientific organisation which finds innovative solutions to: Replace animals in research with non-animal alternatives, reduce the number of animals used in experiments, refine scientific procedures and animal husbandry to minimise suffering.