Enzymatic human vitreolysis
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Investigating the use of proteolytic enzymes to degrade human vitreous floaters supplied by a private clinic
IRAS ID
345859
Contact name
Giuseppe Trigiante
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Kingston University
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 6 months, 0 days
Research summary
Vitreous floaters are a common condition specially in older or short-sighted individuals. They consist of collagen fibres dispersed in the vitreous of the eye; they are not health threatening but can be psychologically very distressful as they are constantly visible in the field of view.
Current available treatments consist of either vitrectomy, an invasive surgical procedure carrying the risk of side effects, or laser vitreolysis, a non-invasive laser based technique which also carries low risks of retinal or lens damage. Moreover, success is not guaranteed as not all floaters can be removed this way, and the procedure is expensive.
With the aim of developing a more effective treatment we developed the idea of using a specific proteolytic enzyme to chemically dissolve the floaters. Following a preliminary discussion on this subject with Dr Evgenia Anikina of the Royal Berkshire Hospital we decided to start a collaborative research project as the hospital has access to vitreous material from patients having undergone vitrectomy and our University has all the equipment necessary to process such samples.
In detail, we plan to acquire vitreous samples from the hospital and subject them to proteolysis using collagenase at different times and concentrations. The digestion of collagen fibres can be monitored via conventional protein analysis techniques such as SDS_PAGE gels, mass spectrometry and Western blotting. The data so obtained, if the experiments are successful, will be used to progress the technique further into preclinical and eventually clinical testing.REC name
West Midlands - Black Country Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
25/WM/0255
Date of REC Opinion
21 Jan 2026
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion