Treatment
To date there is no treatment for ocular albinism, probably because such little is known about the receptor function and its role in pathophysiology. Though surgery for strabismus is sometimes helpful, there does not seem to be a sure remedy for it until the etiology of ocular albinism is well established. However, with the recent discovery of the ligand for this receptor and uncovering the OA1 signaling pathway, treatment of OA1 by administering L-DOPA should seem possible.
Touloukian et al. have characterized OA1 immunologically as a melanoma/melanocyte differentiation antigen. Flow cytometry data suggests that OA1-specific T cells are all CD8+. This indicates that OA1 peptide is processed and presented on the surface of melanoma cells to be recognized by antigen-specific T cells. Moreover, recognition of OA1 by T cells induces cytokine production by the OA1-specific T cells.This means that OA1 is a potential target for melanoma vaccines.
Read more about this topic: Ocular Albinism Type 1
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