Developed in the early 2000s, optogenetics—the combined use of genetic and optical (light) methods to control genes and neurons—is among the most rapidly advancing technologies in neuroscience and has the potential to revolutionize how scientists study the brain. With precisely timed pulses of light aimed at targeted tissue regions or cells, optogenetics allows researchers to trigger or block events in specific cells of living animals. In a mouse with a paw made hypersensitive to touch, for instance, the pain response can be eliminated by shining yellow light on the affected paw, cells in which have been targeted to express a type of light-sensitive microbial protein known as opsin.
The first human trial involving optogenetics began in 2016 and was designed to explore the potential use of the technology to treat patients affected by the hereditary eye disease retinitis pigmentosa. Progressive degeneration of the retina, the hallmark of the disease, eventually causes severe impairment of vision. As many as 15 patients who were blind or mostly blind were expected to participate in the trial, and each was to receive an injection of viruses transporting opsin-encoding genes targeted specifically to retinal ganglion cells (RGCs). A major goal of the test was to establish light sensitivity in RGCs, which usually are unaffected by retinitis pigmentosa and normally relay visual information from photoreceptors in the eye to the brain. In the presence of blue light, RGCs that expressed the opsin would fire, sending visual signals to the brain.
Although the extent to which the optogenetics treatment would improve vision was uncertain, findings from the study were highly anticipated. Other optogenetics therapies were under development for a wide range of diseases, including chronic pain and Parkinson disease, and whether the technology would work in humans was unknown.