Project description:PurposeCell therapy is a promising treatment for retinal pigment epithelium (RPE)-associated eye diseases such as age-related macular degeneration. Herein, selective microsecond laser irradiation targeting RPE cells was used for minimally invasive, large-area RPE removal in preparation for delivery of retinal cell therapeutics.MethodsTen rabbit eyes were exposed to laser pulses 8, 12, 16, and 20 µs in duration (wavelength, 532 nm; top-hat beam profile, 223 × 223 µm²). Post-irradiation retinal changes were assessed with fluorescein angiography (FA), indocyanine green angiography (ICGA), and optical coherence tomography (OCT). RPE viability was evaluated with an angiographic probit model. Following vitrectomy, a subretinal injection of balanced salt solution was performed over a lasered (maximum 13.6 mm2) and untreated control area. Bleb retinal detachment (bRD) morphology was then evaluated by intraoperative OCT.ResultsWithin 1 hour after irradiation, laser lesions showed FA and ICGA leakage. OCT revealed that large-area laser damage was limited to the RPE. The angiographic median effective dose irradiation thresholds (ED50) were 45 µJ (90 mJ/cm2) at 8 µs, 52 µJ (104 mJ/cm2) at 12 µs, 59 µJ (118 mJ/cm2) at 16 µs, and 71 µJ (142 mJ/cm2) at 20 µs. Subretinal injection over the lasered area resulted in a controlled, shallow bRD rise, whereas control blebs were convex in shape, with less predictable spread.ConclusionsLarge-area, laser-based removal of host RPE without visible photoreceptor damage is possible and facilitates surgical retinal detachment.Translational relevanceSelective microsecond laser-based, large-area RPE removal prior to retinal cell therapy may reduce iatrogenic trauma.
Project description:BackgroundTo evaluate the outcomes of subthreshold nanosecond laser treatment of chronic central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC) as a function of the severity of concomitant of retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) defects.MethodsThis retrospective study compares data from 23 CSC diagnosed eyes with only mild RPE defects (group 1), 16 CSC eyes with moderate RPE defects (group 2), and 17 CSC eyes having severe RPE defects (group 3). After subthreshold treatment with the standard Ellex 2RT™ nanosecond laser (Ellex Medical Lasers Ltd, Australia), changes in macular structure and levels of subretinal fluid (SRF) were assessed by OCT-SD, OCT-A, functional integrity of the retina was assessed by corrected distance visual acuity (CDVA) and microperimetry, each at baseline and 1, 3, 6, and 12 months after initial treatment; re-treatment took place in cases of persistent SRF pro re nata.ResultsDuring the 12 months observation period, group 1 and 2 mostly required on initial and one re-treatment (1.9 ± 1.0 treatments; 1.9 ± 1.3 treatments). In contrast, group 3 was subject to three to four treatments (3.7 ± 1.5 treatments). 6 to 12 months after treatment, subretinal fluid (SRF) disappeared in 100% of the eyes of group 1 and in 76.9%, and 42.9% of the eyes of group 2 and group 3, respectively. Retinal sensitivity and CDVA improved in group 1 and 2, but did not change significantly in group 3 during the 12 months period.ConclusionsSubthreshold nanosecond laser treatment is an effective and safe method for the restoration of macular anatomy and sensitivity in acute and chronic CSC cases with only mild or moderate RPE defects. However, this laser treatment has very limited outcome in CSC eyes with more severe RPE defects.
Project description:We show that pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF), which is secreted from primary or iPSC-derived retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), dramatically inhibits the growth of iPSCs. PEDF is detected abundantly in culture supernatants of primary or iPSC-derived RPE. Apoptotic cell death is induced in iPSC when co-cultured with RPE, a process that is significantly blocked by addition of antibody against PEDF. Indeed, addition of recombinant PEDF to the iPSC cell culture induces apoptotic cell death in iPSCs, but the expression of pluripotency related-genes is maintained, suggesting that PEDF causes cell death, not differentiation, of iPSCs. To recapitulate this event in vivo, we examined tumor formation in NOG mice after subcutaneous injection of iPSCs with or without an iPSC-derived RPE sheet (2.5 × 10(5) RPE cells). We observed that the tumor forming potential of iPSCs was significantly suppressed by simultaneous transplantation with an iPSC-derived RPE sheet.
Project description:The therapeutic potential of pluripotent stem cells is great as they promise to usher in a new era of medicine where cells or organs may be prescribed to replace dysfunctional tissue. At the forefront are efforts in the eye to develop this technology as it lends itself to in vivo monitoring and sophisticated non-invasive imaging modalities. In the retina, retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) is the most promising replacement cell as it has a single layer, is relatively simple to transplant, and is associated with several eye diseases. However, after transplantation, the cells may transform and cause complications. This transformation may be partially due to incomplete maturation. With the goal of learning how to mature RPE, we compared induced pluripotent stem cell-derived RPE (iPSC-RPE) cells with adult human primary RPE (ahRPE) cells and the immortalized human ARPE-19 line. We cultured ARPE-19, iPSC-RPE, and ahRPE cells for one month, and evaluated morphology, RPE marker staining, and transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER) as quality control indicators. We then isolated RNA for bulk RNA-sequencing and DNA for genotyping. We genotyped ahRPE lines for the top age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR) risk allele polymorphisms. Transcriptome data verified that both adult and iPSC-RPE exhibit similar RPE gene expression signatures, significantly higher than ARPE-19. In addition, in iPSC-RPE, genes relating to stem cell maintenance, retina development, and muscle contraction were significantly upregulated compared to ahRPE. We compared ahRPE to iPSC-RPE in a model of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and observed an increased sensitivity of iPSC-RPE to producing contractile aggregates in vitro which resembles incident reports upon transplantation. P38 inhibition was capable of inhibiting iPSC-RPE-derived aggregates. In summary, we find that the transcriptomic signature of iPSC-RPE conveys an immature RPE state which may be ameliorated by targeting "immature" gene regulatory networks.
Project description:The therapeutic potential of pluripotent stem cells is great as they promise to usher in a new era of medicine where cells or organs may be prescribed to replace dysfunctional tissue. At the forefront are efforts in the eye to develop this technology as it lends itself to in vivo monitoring and sophisticated non-invasive imaging modalities. In the retina, retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) is the most promising replacement cell as it has a single layer, is relatively simple to transplant, and is associated with several eye diseases. However, after transplantation, the cells may transform and cause complications. This transformation may be partially due to incomplete maturation. With the goal of learning how to mature RPE, we compared induced pluripotent stem cell-derived RPE (iPSC-RPE) cells with adult human primary RPE (ahRPE) cells and the immortalized human ARPE-19 line. We cultured ARPE-19, iPSC-RPE, and ahRPE cells for one month, and evaluated morphology, RPE marker staining, and transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER) as quality control indicators. We then isolated RNA for bulk RNA-sequencing and DNA for genotyping. We genotyped ahRPE lines for the top age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR) risk allele polymorphisms. Transcriptome data verified that both adult and iPSC-RPE exhibit similar RPE gene expression signatures, significantly higher than ARPE-19. In addition, in iPSC-RPE, genes relating to stem cell maintenance, retina development, and muscle contraction were significantly upregulated compared to ahRPE. We compared ahRPE to iPSC-RPE in a model of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and observed an increased sensitivity of iPSC-RPE to producing contractile aggregates in vitro which resembles incident reports upon transplantation. P38 inhibition was capable of inhibiting iPSC-RPE-derived aggregates. In summary, we find that the transcriptomic signature of iPSC-RPE conveys an immature RPE state which may be ameliorated by targeting "immature" gene regulatory networks.
Project description:Antibody-mediated rejection is characterized by donor-specific antibody produced by B cells. However, to our knowledge, B cell invasion and antibody in the inflamed retina after transplantation of retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells has not been reported. To determine if RPE transplantation could be performed using allografts, we established in vivo immune rejection models with induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-RPE allografts and determined whether RPE-specific antibody could be detected in these models. We detected alloantibodies in the serum from recipient monkeys that had immune attacks in the retina in an immunofluorescent assay using the transplanted iPSC-RPE cells as the antigen. In addition to T cell and antigen-presenting cell immunity, peripheral blood cells and lymph nodes in animal models with allogeneic iPSC-RPE cells also had activated B cells, which were probably secreting alloantibodies. Using serum and transplanted cells, alloreactive antibody can be detected for the diagnosis of immune rejection after transplantation.
Project description:Lipofuscin accumulates with age in the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) in discrete granular organelles and may contribute to age-related macular degeneration. Because previous studies suggest that lipofuscin contains protein that may impact pathogenic mechanisms, we pursued proteomics analysis of lipofuscin. The composition of RPE lipofuscin and its mechanisms of pathogenesis are poorly understood in part because of the heterogeneity of isolated preparations. We purified RPE lipofuscin granules by treatment with proteinase K or SDS and showed by light, confocal, and transmission electron microscopy that the purified granules are free of extragranular material and associated membranes. Crude and purified lipofuscin preparations were quantitatively compared by (i) LC MS/MS proteomics analyses, (ii) immunoanalyses of oxidative protein modifications, (iii) amino acid analysis, (iv) HPLC of bisretinoids, and (v) assaying phototoxicity to RPE cells. From crude lipofuscin preparations 186 proteins were identified, many of which appeared to be modified. In contrast, very little protein ( approximately 2% (w/w) by amino acid analysis) and no identifiable protein were found in the purified granules, which retained full phototoxicity to cultured RPE cells. Our analyses showed that granules in purified and crude lipofuscin preparations exhibit no statistically significant differences in diameter or circularity or in the content of the bisretinoids A2E, isoA2E, and all-trans-retinal dimer-phosphatidylethanolamine. The finding that the purified granules contain minimal protein yet retain phototoxic activity suggests that RPE lipofuscin pathogenesis is largely independent of associated protein. The purified granules also exhibited oxidative protein modifications, including nitrotyrosine generated from reactive nitrogen oxide species and carboxyethylpyrrole and iso[4]levuglandin E(2) adducts generated from reactive lipid fragments. This finding is consistent with previous studies demonstrating RPE lipofuscin to be a potent generator of reactive oxygen species and supports the hypothesis that such species, including reactive fragments from lipids and retinoids, contribute to the mechanisms of RPE lipofuscin pathogenesis.
Project description:The purpose of this study was to evaluate focal damage in the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) layer in serous retinal pigment epithelium detachment (PED) with multi-contrast optical coherence tomography (OCT), which is capable of simultaneous measurement of OCT angiography, polarization-sensitive OCT and standard OCT images. We evaluated 37 eyes with age-related macular degeneration that had serous PED. Focal RPE damage was indicated by hyper-transmission beneath the RPE-Bruch's membrane band in standard OCT images. Distribution of RPE melanin was calculated using the dataset from multi-contrast OCT. Twenty-four points with hyper-transmission were detected in 21 of the 37 eyes. Standard OCT images failed to show disruption of the RPE-Bruch's membrane band at 5 of the 24 hyper-transmission points. Conversely, multi-contrast OCT images clearly showed melanin defects in the RPE-Bruch's membrane band at all points. Areas of melanin defects with disruption of the RPE-Bruch's membrane band were significantly larger than those without disruption. The volume of intraretinal hyper-reflective foci was significantly larger in eyes with hyper-transmission than that in eyes without hyper-transmission. Multi-contrast OCT is more sensitive than standard OCT for displaying changes at the RPE-Bruch's membrane band when there are small areas of RPE damage.
Project description:Safety is the principle consideration with any clinical program, for which hESC and their derived products hold specific challenges. Differentiated cell products derived from hESC must be free from pluripotent cells as these could potentially form teratomas. One relevant clinical program is transplantation of retinal pigment epithelial cells (RPE) derived from hESC. This has potential for halting visual decline in conditions where the RPE layer is damaged such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD). In this study we show that whole genome gene expression analysis of SHEF1.3 starting material and the P0 pigmented RPE foci shows that the two cell types are distinct.
Project description:Age-related macular degeneration (AMD), featured with dysfunction and loss of retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), is lacking efficient therapeutic approaches. According to our previous studies, human amniotic epithelial stem cells (hAESCs) may serve as a potential seed cell source of RPE cells for therapy because they have no ethical concerns, no tumorigenicity, and little immunogenicity. Herein, trichostatin A and nicotinamide can direct hAESCs differentiation into RPE like cells. The differentiated cells display the morphology, marker expression and cellular function of the native RPE cells, and noticeably express little MHC class II antigens and high level of HLA-G. Moreover, visual function and retinal structure of Royal College of Surgeon (RCS) rats, a classical animal model of retinal degeneration, were rescued after subretinal transplantation with the hAESCs-derived RPE like cells. Our study possibly makes some contribution to the resource of functional RPE cells for cell therapy. Subretinal transplantation of hAESCs-RPE could be an optional therapeutic strategy for retinal degeneration diseases.