Keep your eyes on the ball

NEWS FROM AGRICULTURE AND LIFE SCIENCES DIVISION, LINCOLN UNIVERSITY

Keep your eyes on the ball

Matthew Muir, from the Agricultural and Life Sciences Division at Lincoln University knows all about keeping his eyes on the ball. He spends his weekends on the rugby field as an Associate Member of the National Referee Squad, while during the week he is studying the mechanism of cataract formation for a PhD.

Matthew is part of a research team lead by Dr Jim Morton at Lincoln University, members of which are working to develop eye drops that will prevent cataracts from forming.

Cataracts are a condition where the normally transparent lens of the eye becomes opaque, causing impaired vision and eventually blindness. They are one of the leading causes of blindness in humans, particularly in older people. The underlying cause and development of the disease is not well understood. At present the only treatment for cataracts is surgery.

The particular part of the team’s project Matthew is working on is identifying and isolating the specific enzymes found in lenses that are thought to be involved in the cutting up lens proteins. These protein fragments are found in the lenses of people who develop cataracts.

Using the latest molecular biology techniques, Matthew successfully isolated an enzyme found only in lenses, called Lp82, and showed that this enzyme was able to break up the specific lens proteins (crystallins) in the presence of calcium.

“I got a real buzz when I saw the positive results on the gel I ran,” said Matthew.

“Although you always do a lot of background reading about others’ research in the field before you design an experiment, you can never be totally sure that what you hope will work actually will. I suppose this uncertainty is what provides the excitement that keeps me going through the three years of my degree.

“Now that we know that this enzyme is involved in cataract formation we are another step along the way in developing a successful preventative treatment for cataracts”

Dr Morton said that when designing new drugs for treatment of humans it is necessary to show they are safe and effective in an animal model.

“Matthew's research is pivotal in establishing the similarity between sheep and human lenses and the appropriateness of sheep cataracts as a model for cataracts in people.”

Earlier in this year, Matthew had the opportunity to present his most recent research at the top Ophthalmology Conference in Florida, and part of his costs were funded by a grant from the Canterbury Rugby Referees Association and their sponsors AMI. His work was well received by his peers.

ENDS

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