The humble snail may hold the key to reversing one of aging’s harshest effects
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“Longevity is an exciting area of research, but living longer is only part of the picture. What truly matters is how we live those extra years. [...] If we can uncover the mechanisms behind full organ regeneration, we could move beyond simply managing chronic conditions and instead restore function.” — Alice Accorsi, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology at UCSF
Treatment and management of eye degeneration remains a clinical challenge. But exciting new research suggests the humble apple snail could help.[]
“One of the most remarkable features of these snails is how fast, precise, and reproducible eye regeneration is,” says Alice Accorsi, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology at the University of California San Francisco. “After the entire eye is removed, the first signs of regrowth appear in less than 2 weeks, and a new eye, with all its components, is restored in under a month.”
Dr. Accorsi notes molecular studies (conducted under the mentorship of Alejandro Sánchez Alvarado, PhD, investigator at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research in Kansas City, MO) reveal that many of the same genes drive eye formation in both snails and humans, despite their eyes having evolved independently. “This suggests that, while there may be many ways to build an eye, the fundamental genetic building blocks are shared between very different species (humans and snails),” she explains.
“Although snails have been known for their regenerative abilities since the 1700s, no one had explored their biology using modern molecular tools…. When I later discovered that they possess complex camera-type eyes, the same kind of eyes that you and I have, I realized we had a unique opportunity to uncover insights into regenerative biology that could have a meaningful impact on human health.” — Alice Accorsi, PhD
A clinical challenge
In the United States, nearly 20 million people live with age-related macular degeneration. This is a leading cause of vision loss and blindness.[] While treatment options are advancing, there is no cure for the condition, and the damage is irreversible.
“Treating and managing eye degeneration remains a major clinical challenge due to the complexity of disease mechanisms, limited effectiveness of current therapies, and the high burden on patients and healthcare systems,” Dr. Accorsi says. “Despite advances in imaging and therapeutics, many conditions like age-related macular degeneration still lack curative options, and treatments often require frequent, invasive procedures with variable outcomes.”
“One of the key barriers to developing new therapies is the scarcity of genetically tractable model systems with camera-type eyes that can robustly regenerate,” she explains. “Most vertebrates have limited regenerative capacity, while invertebrates either lack anatomical similarity to human eyes or the molecular tools needed for mechanistic studies.”
"This gap underscores the critical role of basic science in discovering and characterizing new models—such as apple snails, which combine regenerative ability with eye structure and emerging genetic tools—to uncover natural mechanisms that could inspire novel treatments."
— Alice Accorsi, PhD
Future breakthroughs in regenerative medicine
Dr. Accorsi and her co-researchers are hopeful their study into apple snails will form the foundation for future breakthroughs in the area of regenerative medicine.
“Longevity is an exciting area of research, but living longer is only part of the picture. What truly matters is how we live those extra years. I’m especially passionate about regeneration because it holds the potential to dramatically improve quality of life at any age,” Dr. Accorsi says.
“If we can uncover the mechanisms behind full organ regeneration, we could move beyond simply managing chronic conditions and instead restore function. This is why I focus on basic science: by studying organisms capable of regenerating complex structures like camera-type eyes, we can learn from nature’s solutions and pave the way for transformative therapies that support not just longer lives, but healthier ones.”
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