Differentiation of induced pluripotent stem cells of swine into rod photoreceptors and their integration into the retina.

ABSTRACT: Absence of a regenerative pathway for damaged retina following injury or disease has led to experiments using stem cell transplantation for retinal repair, and encouraging results have been obtained in rodents. The swine eye is a closer anatomical and physiological match to the human eye, but embryonic stem cells have not been isolated from pig, and photoreceptor differentiation has not been demonstrated with induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) of swine. Here, we subjected iPSCs of swine to a rod photoreceptor differentiation protocol consisting of floating culture as embryoid bodies followed by differentiation in adherent culture. Real-time PCR and immunostaining of differentiated cells demonstrated loss of expression of the pluripotent genes POU5F1, NANOG, and SOX2 and induction of ro

SUBMITTER: Zhou L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4263955 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature