New atlas of macula to develop understanding of disease

Researchers are creating a new atlas of the macula that could develop our understanding of macular disease.

Dr Colin Chu and his PhD student Jakub (Kuba) Kubiak at University College London are creating an ‘atlas’ of the macula using pioneering techniques. 

The macula is incredibly complex, with many layers of different cells all working to create our central vision.

Developing our understanding

There’s a lot we already know about how these cells work and relate to each other, but there’s still so much to learn so we can find ways to fight against macular disease and maintain sight. 

Dr Chu and Kuba are building an ‘atlas’ of the macula, using a recently developed technique to visualise and map cells to better understand how they interact. They will map the maculas of people of different ages, with and without macular disease. This level of ‘mapping’ detail has not been possible until now.

The purpose of this research is to produce a reference map of what the eye is supposed to look like, and what's happening in a person with macular disease. 

A multifactorial disease 

Talking about this Macular Society-funded project, Kuba Kubiak said: “Macular disease has always been looked at from a single perspective, with a single-factor approach. But it’s multifactorial.

"For example, the immune system might be involved to some extent, or there's a vascular problem; there's how these cells can die off or stay alive in different ways. So, when you look at it from an immune perspective only, or from a vascular perspective only, you miss the whole story."

The atlas of the macula will reveal how macula cells work and what changes during macular disease, so researchers can find ways to stop these changes and keep the macula healthy. 

The path to a cure 

The map could also help identify signs of early macular disease and help in the analysis of eye scans. It will also be a publicly shared resource, supporting many other research projects going forward and providing a key reference for future discoveries and developments as we continue searching for a cure for macular disease.

Kuba added: "Coming into this field, I thought, “why hasn’t more progress been made?” But it’s so complex, the variability, how different people are from each other, even between healthy patients with no macular disease. I'm very much aware now of why it's so difficult, why it's so tough - it’s because of the complexity from person to person.”

Dr Chu said their work was fundamental to finding a cure for macular disease. He said: “The only way is to look at the big picture and everything together, and that's what this ‘atlas’ enables. For the first time we aren’t looking at just the blood vessels or the immune cells, or only the nerve cells or the RPE. We can look at all of it together - where they touch, where they relate. This holistic approach is where we have a very high chance of making real breakthroughs.”

Pioneering techniques 

The atlas of the macula uses a pioneering ‘mapping’ technique only recently developed. The basic building block of the technique - called ‘immunohistochemistry’ - has existed for a while and allows researchers to examine tissue under a microscope using colour.
  
With this newly developed approach, the team can incorporate not just two or three colours, as most researchers do, but up to 40 at the same time. Bringing together so many different areas of macular disease into one view could help researchers better understand the condition and move us closer to improved treatments.

You can help fund essential projects like Dr Chu and Kuba’s and give hope for a cure to every person diagnosed with macular disease.