Repair of Retinal Degeneration by Human Amniotic Epithelial Stem Cell-Derived Photoreceptor-like Cells.

ABSTRACT: The loss of photoreceptors is a major event of retinal degeneration that accounts for most cases of untreatable blindness globally. To date, there are no efficient therapeutic approaches to treat this condition. In the present study, we aimed to investigate whether human amniotic epithelial stem cells (hAESCs) could serve as a novel seed cell source of photoreceptors for therapy. Here, a two-step treatment with combined Wnt, Nodal, and BMP inhibitors, followed by another cocktail of retinoic acid, taurine, and noggin induced photoreceptor-like cell differentiation of hAESCs. The differentiated cells demonstrated the morphology and signature marker expression of native photoreceptor cells and, intriguingly, bore very low levels of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II molecules an

SUBMITTER: Li J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9369429 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature