Level D· Scientific groundwork from lab and animal studiesNarrative ReviewEurope PMCOpen access

CRISPR and Beyond: Genome-Editing Strategies in Retinal Stem Cell Research

Woronkowicz M., Thomas MN., Saram SJ., Carr AF., Alonso-Carriazo Fernandez A., Butt Z.

Narrative Review, published in Cells (2026) — summary generated from the PubMed abstract.

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Level D· Scientific groundwork from lab and animal studiesEvidence level of this study

Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.

  • Level A · Stronger Clinical Evidence
  • Level B · Emerging clinical evidence with positive signals
  • Level C · Early human research exploring benefits
  • Level D · Scientific groundwork from lab and animal studies
  • Emerging · Emerging topic under active research
Read the A–D evidence level guide

This page is generated from the PubMed record. The Thai description is an automated summary of bibliographic fields and the abstract, not a full translation, and is not medical advice.

Study type
Narrative Review
Journal
Cells (2026)
Reported sample size
—
Source database
Europe PMC
PMID
41892280
PMCID
PMC13026061
DOI
10.3390/cells15060489
Citations
1

Abstract (original English)

Genome editing has emerged as a transformative approach for understanding and treating retinal degenerative diseases. Combining this technology with pluripotent stem cells provides an ideal platform for modeling human development and disease, and investigating emerging therapeutic strategies ultimately aimed towards in vivo correction. This approach enables both functional studies to understand retinal degeneration and the early development of targeted therapies for inherited disease. This review offers a comprehensive overview of genome-editing techniques and the ability to create new clinically relevant models to understand human disease in retinal research, focusing on the use of the CRISPR-Cas9 system in induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and embryonic stem cells (ESCs), as well as highlighting recent advancements in base and prime editing. Gene editing in various retinal diseases is discussed in context of studies focusing on disease modeling or developing therapeutic strategies. Continued refinement of these techniques will be essential for advancing translational applications in retinal disease treatment.

What this study does not prove

  • • This study does not prove SVF is an approved treatment or a replacement for standard care.
  • • This is a narrative review: it collects no new patient data and does not systematically appraise evidence quality.

Evidence level

Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.

How we grade evidence
RetinaAnimalsHumansEmbryonic Stem CellsInduced Pluripotent Stem CellsStem Cell ResearchCRISPR-Cas SystemsGene Editing

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