Project description:The corneal endothelium plays a primary role in maintaining corneal homeostasis and clarity, and must be surgically replaced with allogenic donor corneal endothelium in the event of visually significant dysfunction. However, a worldwide shortage of donor corneal tissue has led to a search for alternative sources of transplantable tissue. Cultured human corneal endothelial cells (HCEnC) have been shown to restore corneal clarity in experimental models of corneal endothelial dysfunction in animal models, but characterization of cultured HCEnC remains incomplete. To this end, we utilized next-generation RNA sequencing technology to compare the transcriptomic profile of ex vivo human corneal endothelium (evHCEnC) with that of primary HCEnC and HCEnC lines, and to determine the utility of cultured and immortalized corneal endothelial cells as models of in vivo corneal endothelium. Multidimensional analyses of the transcriptome datasets demonstrated that primary HCEnC have a closer relationship to evHCEnC than do immortalized HCEnC. Subsequent analyses showed that the majority of the genes specifically expressed in HCEnC (not expressed in ex vivo corneal epithelium or fibroblasts) demonstrated a marked variability of expression in cultured cells compared with evHCEnC. In addition, genes associated with either corneal endothelial cell function or corneal endothelial dystrophies were investigated. Significant differences in gene expression and protein levels were observed in the cultured cells compared with evHCEnC for each of the genes tested except for AGBL1 and LOXHD1, which were not detected by RNA-seq or qPCR. Our transcriptomic analysis suggests that at a molecular level primary HCEnC most closely resemble evHCEC and thus represent a viable therapeutic option for managing corneal endothelial dysfunction. Our findings also suggest that investigators should perform an assessment of the entire transcriptome of cultured HCEnC prior to determination of the potential clinical utility of the cultured HCEnC for the management of corneal endothelial cell failure. Transcriptomes from ex vivo corneal endothelium, primary cultures and three cell lines were compared. Three samples of each endothelial cell group were submitted for RNA sequencing for a total of 15 samples. The transcriptome for the ex vivo corneal endothelium was used as the reference (i.e., proxy for in vivo corneal endothelium). Transcript abundances for a subset of genes associated with corneal endothelial cell function or disease were validated with qPCR and western blot. Samples of ex vivo endothelium used for validation were independent replicates not used for RNA-sequencing.
Project description:The corneal endothelium plays a primary role in maintaining corneal homeostasis and clarity, and must be surgically replaced with allogenic donor corneal endothelium in the event of visually significant dysfunction. However, a worldwide shortage of donor corneal tissue has led to a search for alternative sources of transplantable tissue. Cultured human corneal endothelial cells (HCEnC) have been shown to restore corneal clarity in experimental models of corneal endothelial dysfunction in animal models, but characterization of cultured HCEnC remains incomplete. To this end, we utilized next-generation RNA sequencing technology to compare the transcriptomic profile of ex vivo human corneal endothelium (evHCEnC) with that of primary HCEnC and HCEnC lines, and to determine the utility of cultured and immortalized corneal endothelial cells as models of in vivo corneal endothelium. Multidimensional analyses of the transcriptome datasets demonstrated that primary HCEnC have a closer relationship to evHCEnC than do immortalized HCEnC. Subsequent analyses showed that the majority of the genes specifically expressed in HCEnC (not expressed in ex vivo corneal epithelium or fibroblasts) demonstrated a marked variability of expression in cultured cells compared with evHCEnC. In addition, genes associated with either corneal endothelial cell function or corneal endothelial dystrophies were investigated. Significant differences in gene expression and protein levels were observed in the cultured cells compared with evHCEnC for each of the genes tested except for AGBL1 and LOXHD1, which were not detected by RNA-seq or qPCR. Our transcriptomic analysis suggests that at a molecular level primary HCEnC most closely resemble evHCEC and thus represent a viable therapeutic option for managing corneal endothelial dysfunction. Our findings also suggest that investigators should perform an assessment of the entire transcriptome of cultured HCEnC prior to determination of the potential clinical utility of the cultured HCEnC for the management of corneal endothelial cell failure.
Project description:Aim: To generate human embryonic stem cell-derived corneal endothelial cells (hESC-CECs) for transplantation in patients with corneal endothelial dystrophies.
Project description:Human corneal endothelial cells (HCEC) form a monolayer by adhering tightly through their intercellular adhesion molecules. Located at the posterior corneal surface, they maintain corneal translucency by dehydrating the corneal stroma, mainly through the Na+- and K+-dependent ATPase (Na+/K+-ATPase). Because HCEC proliferative activity is low in vivo,we tried to activate proliferation of HCEC by inhibiting cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors.We have here demonstrated microarray data of transduced human corneal endothelial cell lines. Affymetrix human U133 plus 2.0 array was used to transcriptionally profile to compare cultured human corneal endothelial cells and transduced human corneal endothelial cells.
Project description:Mutations in the solute-linked carrier family 4 member 11 (SLC4A11) gene are associated with several corneal endothelial dystrophies, in all of which visually significant cornea edema may require corneal transplantation. To elucidate the pathogenesis of SLC4A11 associated corneal endothelial dystrophies, we analyzed the transcriptome of immortalized mouse corneal endothelial cells (Slc4a11-/- MCEnC) and Slc4a11+/+ MCEnC as controls.
Project description:Mutations in the solute-linked carrier family 4 member 11 (SLC4A11) gene are associated with several corneal endothelial dystrophies, in all of which visually significant cornea edema may require corneal transplantation. To elucidate the pathogenesis of SLC4A11 associated corneal endothelial dystrophies, we analyzed the transcriptome of SLC4A11 knock-down primary human corneal endothelium (SLC4A11 KD pHCEnC) and scrambled RNA treated pHCEnC as controls.
Project description:Considerable interest has been generated for the development through cell-tissue engineering of suitable corneal endothelial graft alternatives, which can potentially alleviate the shortage of corneal transplant material. The advent of less invasive suture-less key-hole surgery options such as DescemetM-bM-^@M-^Ys Stripping Endothelial Keratoplasty (DSEK) and DescemetM-bM-^@M-^Ys Membrane Endothelial Keratoplasty (DMEK), which involve transplantation of solely the endothelial layer instead of full thickness cornea, provide further impetus for the development of alternative endothelial grafts for clinical applications. A major challenge for this endeavor is the lack of specific markers for this cell type. To identify genes that reliably mark corneal endothelial cells (CECs) in vivo and in vitro, we performed RNA-sequencing on freshly isolated human CECs (from both young and old donors), CEC cultures, and corneal stroma. Gene expression of these corneal cell types were also compared to that of other human tissue types. Based on high throughput comparative gene expression analysis, we identified a panel of markers that are: i) highly expressed in CECs from both young donors and old donors; ii) expressed in CECs in vivo and in vitro; and iii) not expressed in corneal stroma keratocytes and the activated corneal stroma fibroblasts. These were SLC4A11, COL8A2 and CYYR1. The use of this panel of genes in combination reliably ascertains the identity of the CEC cell type. A total of 20 donor corneas consisting of 10 single donor corneas and 5 paired donor corneas were used in this study. Donor age ranged from 19 - 76. This RNA-seq study included 15 pooled corneas (5 each) used form CEC old, CEC young and stroma samples.
Project description:Considerable interest has been generated for the development through cell-tissue engineering of suitable corneal endothelial graft alternatives, which can potentially alleviate the shortage of corneal transplant material. The advent of less invasive suture-less key-hole surgery options such as Descemet’s Stripping Endothelial Keratoplasty (DSEK) and Descemet’s Membrane Endothelial Keratoplasty (DMEK), which involve transplantation of solely the endothelial layer instead of full thickness cornea, provide further impetus for the development of alternative endothelial grafts for clinical applications. A major challenge for this endeavor is the lack of specific markers for this cell type. To identify genes that reliably mark corneal endothelial cells (CECs) in vivo and in vitro, we performed RNA-sequencing on freshly isolated human CECs (from both young and old donors), CEC cultures, and corneal stroma. Gene expression of these corneal cell types were also compared to that of other human tissue types. Based on high throughput comparative gene expression analysis, we identified a panel of markers that are: i) highly expressed in CECs from both young donors and old donors; ii) expressed in CECs in vivo and in vitro; and iii) not expressed in corneal stroma keratocytes and the activated corneal stroma fibroblasts. These were SLC4A11, COL8A2 and CYYR1. The use of this panel of genes in combination reliably ascertains the identity of the CEC cell type.
Project description:This SuperSeries is composed of the following subset Series:; GSE16691: Transcriptional regulation by Norrin-Frizzled4 signaling in the embryonic yolk sac; GSE16703: Long-term effect on the transcriptome of a decrement in Norrin/Frizzled4/Lrp signaling in retinal endothelial cells; GSE16705: Transcriptional response to Frizzled4 signaling in cultured retinal endothelial cells; GSE16707: Long-term effect on the transcriptome of loss of Frizzled4 signaling in cerebellar endothelial cells Experiment Overall Design: Refer to individual Series
Project description:Abstract: Autologous spermatogonial stem cell transplantation is an experimental technique aimed at restoring fertility in infertile men. Although effective in animal models, in vitro propagation of human spermatogonia prior to transplantation has proven to be difficult. A major limiting factor is endogenous somatic testicular cell overgrowth during long-term culture. This makes the culture both inefficient and necessitates highly specific cell sorting strategies in order to enrich cultured germ cell fractions prior to transplantation. Here, we employed RNAseq using differential gene expression and cell deconvolution analyses, to determine cell type composition in sorted integrin alpha-6 (ITGA6+) primary human testicular cells (n = 4 donors) cultured for up to two months. Our data and analyses reveal that long-term cultured ITGA6+ testicular cells are composed mainly of cells expressing markers of peritubular myoid cells, Leydig cell progenitors, fibroblasts and mesenchymal stromal cells and only a limited number of spermatogonial cells as compared to their uncultured counterparts. These findings provide valuable insights into the cell type composition of cultured human ITGA6+ testicular cells during in vitro propagation and may serve as a basis for optimizing future cell sorting strategies as well as optimizing the current human testicular cell culture system for clinical use.