Study looks to fish eyes to help solve donor cornea shortage

11 May 2016

Study looks to fish eyes to help solve donor cornea shortage

Fish eyes are currently a low-value by-product of the New Zealand fishing industry. But a new study that aims to manufacture human corneal replacements from proteins found in fish eye lenses could mean fish eyes go from being ‘scraps’ to highly-valued biomaterials.

Biochemist Dr Laura Domigan, a research fellow at the University of Auckland, has received an Emerging Researcher First Grant from the Health Research Council of New Zealand (HRC) to carry out this novel study.

HRC Chief Executive Professor Kath McPherson says the HRC is proud to support Laura and nine other promising emerging researchers to the combined tune of $1.45 million this year.

“These grants are an important launching pad to help provide sustainable career paths for New Zealand’s top health research talent,” says Professor McPherson.

The worldwide shortage of human donor corneas – the clear, protective layer at the front of the eye – has led to increasing interest in creating artificial corneal replacements. In this study Dr Domigan will recycle proteins from the eye lenses of New Zealand’s hoki fish to create new biomaterials for corneal tissue engineering.

“Tissue engineering involves the combination of a biomaterial scaffold with cells to create an implant that supports host tissue regeneration,” says Dr Domigan.

“Tissue engineered corneas offer the opportunity for long-term tissue repair, as opposed to non-degradable artificial corneas, which may result in host rejection and post-operative complications.”

More than 250 cornea transplants are performed each year in New Zealand, and they are becoming increasingly common as the age of the population increases. About 10 million people have corneal blindness worldwide, but only 100,000 transplants are performed each year because of the lack of donor corneas, particularly in developing countries. The growing popularity of laser eye surgery (LASIK) also decreases the availability of donor corneas as it disqualifies them from use.

Professor Kath McPherson says this grant will enable Dr Domigan to establish an independent health research career centred around turning low-cost New Zealand bioresources – namely proteins – into high-value biomaterials with great commercial potential.

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