Dataset Information

Stem cell-based therapies for age-related macular degeneration: current status and prospects.

ABSTRACT: Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is one of the major causes of irreversible blindness both in developed and developing countries. During the past decades, the managements of neovascular AMD (wet AMD) have dramatically progressed. However, still no effective treatment for non-neovascular AMD (dry AMD) which was characterized by geographic macular atrophy. Recent advances in stem cell sciences have demonstrated that retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells can be generated from several types of stem cells (including embryonic stem cells, induced pluripotent stem cells, mesenchymal stem cells, et al) by cell co-culturing or defined factors. Additionally, studies also showed that visual function could be recovered by transplantation of these cells into subretinal space in vivo. Moreover, the United States Food and Drug Administration already approved several clinical trials to evaluate the efficiencies of stem cell based cell transplantation for dry AMD patients. Till now, a few patients enrolled in these studies achieved promising outcomes. This review will summarize recent advances in stem cell based RPE differentiation, transplantation, and the preliminary results of clinical trials. The obstacles and prospects in this field will also be discussed.

SUBMITTER: Mu Y

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4276150 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Stem cell-based therapies for age-related macular degeneration: current status and prospects.

Mu Yalin Y Zhao Manli M Su Guangming G

International journal of clinical and experimental medicine 20141115 11

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is one of the major causes of irreversible blindness both in developed and developing countries. During the past decades, the managements of neovascular AMD (wet AMD) have dramatically progressed. However, still no effective treatment for non-neovascular AMD (dry AMD) which was characterized by geographic macular atrophy. Recent advances in stem cell sciences have demonstrated that retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells can be generated from several types o ...[more]

PMID: 25550892

Similar Datasets

Project description:Geographic atrophy (GA) of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) is a devastating complication of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). GA may be classified as drusen-related (drusen-associated GA) or neovascularization-related (neovascular-associated GA). Drusen-related GA remains a large public health concern due to the burden of blindness it produces, but pathophysiology of the condition is obscure and there are no proven treatment options. Genotyping, cell biology, and clinical imaging point to upregulation of parainflammatory pathways, oxidative stress, and choroidal sclerosis as contributors, among other factors. Onset and monitoring of progression is accomplished through clinical imaging instrumentation such as optical coherence tomography, photography, and autofluorescence, which are the tools most helpful in determining end points for clinical trials at present. A number of treatment approaches with diverse targets are in development at this time, some of which are in human clinical trials. Neovascular-associated GA is a consequence of RPE loss after development of neovascular AMD. The neovascular process leads to a plethora of cellular stresses such as ischemia, inflammation, and dramatic changes in cell environment that further taxes RPE cells already dysfunctional from drusen-associated changes. GA may therefore develop secondary to the neovascular process de novo or preexisting drusen-associated GA may continue to worsen with the development of neovascular AMD. Neovascular-associated GA is a prominent cause of continued vision loss in patients with otherwise successfully treated neovascular AMD. Clearly, treatment with vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) inhibitors early in the course of the neovascular disease is of great clinical benefit. However, there is a rationale and some suggestive evidence that anti-VEGF agents themselves could be toxic to RPE and enhance neovascular-associated GA. The increasing prevalence of legal blindness from this condition due to the aging of the general population lends urgency to the search for a therapy to ameliorate GA.

Dataset Information

Stem cell-based therapies for age-related macular degeneration: current status and prospects.

Publications

Stem cell-based therapies for age-related macular degeneration: current status and prospects.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets