Baku, April 8 (AZERTAC). Japanese scientists believe they are getting closer to growing a human eye.

New research being published today in the journal Nature explains how they have managed to grow a mouse eye from stem cells, with the hope it will lead to treatments for human blindness.

Professor Andrew Elefanty from the Monash Immunology and Stem Cell Laboratories says the scientists have taken embryonic stem cells from a mouse and grown a structure similar to the early forming eye.

"This is sort of the first time this type of complex eye structure`s been grown, and I think that`s what really the excitement is about from the point of view of this paper," he says.

"Generally it`s been felt that to grow these things in a culture dish [it] requires way too much organisation than what you`d be able to reproduce in a laboratory.

"And so I think that`s what partly the surprise and the interest is - that in the culture these scientists` use of mouse embryonic stem cells, they`re able to get several elements that help to make up the eye all growing together in the right fashion, such that it looks very similar to what you`d see normally during [natural] development."

Up until now, researchers had successfully created simple nerve muscle and cartilage using embryonic stem cells.

Now, for the first time, a Japanese team has created a highly complex biological structure - a retina.

The retina consists of a group of cells that line the back of the eye which enable us to see.

In many forms of sight disorders, it is these cells that become damaged.

Elefanty says it is hoped what has been done with mouse stem cells can be translated into work with human stem cells.

"Even though mice and humans look pretty different, there`s actually a lot of developmental similarity between them," he says.

"In addition to that I think it provides a starting point to be able to grow and to study the complex layers of nerves that make up the eye.

"Then eventually the hope will be that these cultures these scientists have initiated will allow us to grow the same complicated nerve structures from human eyes.

"That will enable us to both study and understand eye diseases and have new therapies."

He says the researchers are a step closer to their "holy grail".

"The eventual hope will be that ... we`ll is able to make sections of the human eye in the laboratory that could be used as a cell treatment for patients with different forms of blindness.

"It`s still going to be some way off, but this is a great start."