The very engaging speakers for this workshop provided the latest comprehensive information about retinotoxicology, and described a framework for predictive retinotoxicity of new drugs and environmental/industrial chemicals. This session was very well attended and prompted good questions and discussion from the audience.
Brian Short from Allergan, California, started the session by discussing emerging technologies and increased understanding of retinal structure and function to assess toxicity of ocular drugs. He indicated that understanding species' anatomical differences is useful for interpreting toxicological and pathological responses to the eye and is important for human risk assessment of new therapies for ocular diseases.
Jim Chastain from Alcon Research Ltd, Fort Worth, TX outlined the role of blood-retina barrier transporters in retinal toxicity. Some highlights of his talk were melanin distribution, routes of distribution to retina, blood-retinal barrier transporters, influx and efflux transporters.
Donald Fox from The University of Houston, Houston, TX discussed toxicant-induced and off-target-induced retinotoxicity. He started his talk by describing retinal anatomy. He then explained the mechanisms of action of various retinal toxicants in great detail.
Craig Crosson from Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC provided an intensive overview of the retinal pigment epithelium, especially in disease and drug-induced dysfunction. He indicated that the retinal pigmented epithelium (RPE) is a principal factor in the pathogenesis of retinal edema. He also said that VEGF is a major cytokine regulating RPE barrier properties in vivo.
Stem cells in retinal repair and regeneration were discussed by Dennis Clegg from University of California at Santa Barbara. He said that embryonic, induced pluripotent (iPS), and adult stem cells have great potential for treating a variety of diseases, including macular degeneration. He provided an explanation of the basic biology of how stem cells can differentiate into ocular cells, especially retinal pigmented epithelium (RPE). He addressed recent developments in retinal pigmented epithelium stem cell basic and clinical/translational research, including the toxicology evaluation that is required before initiating human trials for this latest technological advancement.
This blog discusses highlights from the SOT Annual Meeting and ToxExpo Workshop Session "Deciphering Clinical and Experimental Retinal Toxicology: An Eye on the Present and Future."