Search

The three-dimensional (3D) retinal organoids (ROs) derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs), mimicking the growth and development of the human retina, is a promising model for investigating inherited retinal diseases in vitro . However, the efficient generation of homogenous ROs remains a challenge. Here we introduce a novel polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microwell platform containing 62 V-bottom micro-cavities for the ROs differentiation from hiPSCs. The uniform adherent 3D ROs could spontaneously form using neural retina (NR) induction. Our results showed that the complex of NR (expressing VSX2), ciliary margin (CM) (expressing RDH10), and retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) (expressing ZO-1, MITF, and RPE65) developed in the PDMS microwell after the differentiation. It is important to note that ROs in PDMS microwell platforms not only enable one-stop assembly but also maintain homogeneity and mature differentiation over a period of more than 25 weeks without the use of BMP4 and Matrigel. Retinal ganglion cells (expressing BRN3a), amacrine cells (expressing AP2a), horizontal cells (expressing PROX1 and AP2 α ), photoreceptor cells for cone (expressing S-opsin and L/M-opsin) and rod (expressing Rod opsin), bipolar cells (expressing VSX2 and PKC α ), and Müller glial cells (expressing GS and Sox9) gradually emerged. Furthermore, we replaced fetal bovine serum with human platelet lysate and established a xeno-free culture workflow that facilitates clinical application. Thus, our PDMS microwell platform for one-stop assembly and long-term culture of ROs using a xeno-free workflow is favorable for retinal disease modeling, drug screening, and manufacturing ROs for clinical translation., (© 2023 IOP Publishing Ltd.)

We generated an induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell line by reprogramming peripheral blood mononuclear cells of a patient with Usher syndrome type II carrying USH2A gene mutation (c.8559-2A > G). The iPS cell line with confirmed patient-specific point mutation exhibited typical iPS cell characteristics and maintained a normal karyotype. It can be used as 2D and 3D models to investigate the underlying pathogenic mechanism and lay a solid foundation for future personalized therapy., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Substrate stiffness has been indicated as an important factor to control stem cell fate, including proliferation and differentiation. To optimize the stiffness for the differentiation process from h-iPSCs (human induced pluripotent stem cells) into h-iCSCs (human corneal stromal cells derived from h-iPSCs) and the phenotypic maintenance of h-iCSCs in vitro, h-iPSCs were cultured on matrigel-coated tissue culture plate (TCP) (10 6 kPa), matrigel-coated polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) 184 (1250 kPa), and matrigel-coated PDMS 527 (4 kPa) before they were differentiated to h-iCSCs. Immunofluorescence staining, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR), and western blot demonstrated that the stiffer substrate TCP promoted the h-iCSCs' differentiation from h-iPSCs. On the contrary, softer PDMS 527 was more effective to maintain the phenotype of h-iCSCs cultured in vitro. Finally, we cultured h-iCSCs on PDMS 527 until P3 and seeded them on a biomimetic collagen membrane to form the single-layer and multiple-layer bioengineered corneal stroma with high transparency properties and cell survival rate. In conclusion, the study is helpful for differentiating h-iPSCs to h-iCSCs and corneal tissue engineering by manipulating stiffness mechanobiology.

Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is one of the most common inherited retinal diseases characterized by nyctalopia, progressive vision loss and visual field contraction. we previously generated an induced pluripotent stem cell line (CSUASOi004-A) from a RP patient with heterozygous PRPF6 c.2699 G>A (p.R900H) mutation. Here we corrected the PRPF6 c.2699 G>A mutation genetically using CRISPR/Cas9 technology to generate an isogenic control (CSUASOi004-A-1), which can provide a valuable resource in the research of the disease., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Pre-mRNA processing factors (PRPFs) are vital components of the spliceosome and are involved in the physiological process necessary for pre-mRNA splicing to mature mRNA. As an important member, PRPF6 mutation resulting in autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa (adRP) is not common. Recently, we reported the establishment of an induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs; CSUASOi004-A) model by reprogramming the peripheral blood mononuclear cells of a PRPF6 -related adRP patient, which could recapitulate a consistent disease-specific genotype. In this study, a disease model of retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells was generated from the iPSCs of this patient to further investigate the underlying molecular and pathological mechanisms. The results showed the irregular morphology, disorganized apical microvilli and reduced expressions of RPE-specific genes in the patient's iPSC-derived RPE cells. In addition, RPE cells carrying the PRPF6 mutation displayed a decrease in the phagocytosis of fluorescein isothiocyanate-labeled photoreceptor outer segments and exhibited impaired cell polarity and barrier function. This study will benefit the understanding of PRPF6 -related RPE cells and future cell therapy.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a major caused by insulin resistance with a relative deficiency in insulin secretion. Statistically, T2DM accounts for 90% of diabetes cases worldwide. We report the patient-specific human induced pluripotent stem cell line (iPSC) CSUASOi010-A by using Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of a 62-year-old female from Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Patient blood-derived cells were reprogrammed using the Sendai virus., (Copyright © 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

USH type 2 (USH2) is an autosomal recessive disorder that is characterized by inherited retinopathies and sensorineural hearing loss. USH type 2 (USH2) is frequently caused by USH2A mutations, which account for 74-90% of USH2 cases. We used peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from a USH2 patient with a USH2A gene mutation (c.8559-2A > G) to create an induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell line. The patient-specific iPS cell line with the specific point mutation exhibited typical iPS cell characteristics, and it can be used as a model to investigate the pathogenic mechanisms underlying USH2A-associated retinal degeneration and sensorineural hearing loss., (Copyright © 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is a group of inherited retinal disorders characterized by the progressive photoreceptors and pigment epithelial cells dysfunction. Here, we report the human induced pluripotent stem cell line (iPSC) CSUASOi006-A, generated from urine-derived cells (UCs) of a 17-year-old male patient with clinically diagnosed RP carrying point mutation (c.C5792T) in the pre-mRNA processing factor 8 gene (PRPF8). The newly derived CSUASOi006-A cell line has the patient's same mutation (c.C5792T) and could provide useful resources for studying the pathogenic mechanism of PRPF8-related RP., (Copyright © 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

We have established the patient-specific induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell line CSUASOi004-A by using peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of a retinitis pigmentosa (RP) patient with a PRPF6 gene mutation (c.G2699A:p.R900H). CSUASOi004-A was established by a non-integrative method with four episomal plasmids containing the Yamanaka factors. The cell line with the specific point mutation had the typical features of normal iPS cells. For instance, the cells expressed pluripotency markers, generated all three germ layers and had a normal karyotype, and they can serve as a model for unravelling the pathogenic mechanisms underlying PRPF6-associated retinal degeneration., Competing Interests: Author disclosure statement There are no competing financial interests with respect to this study., (Copyright © 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

X-linked retinoschisis (XLRS) is a one of most common retinal genetic diseases of juvenile progressive vitreoretinal degeneration in males, which caused by the mutation of RS1 gene. In this study, an induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) line was generated from human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of a 13-year-old male patient with X-linked juvenile retinoschisis carrying a novel mutation in RS1 gene. The iPSCs exhibited iPSC morphology, expression of the pluripotency markers and in vitro differentiation potential, and the CSUASOi005-A iPSC line retained the original mutation (c.527T > A) of RS1 with a normal karyotype., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

In vitro generation of a functional retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) monolayer sheet is useful and promising for RPE cell therapy. Here, for the first time, we used induced pluripotent stem (iPS) supernatant as the conditioned medium (iPS-CM) and femtosecond laser intrastromal lenticule (FLI-lenticule) as a scaffold to construct an engineered RPE sheet. There are significant enhancements in RPE cell density, transepithelial electrical resistance (TER) and inhibitions of ultraviolet C (UVC)-irradiated apoptosis when RPE cells are cultured in iPS supernatant/Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium (DMEM)-F12 of 1/2 (iPS-CM) compared with those in normal medium (NM, DMEM-F12). Using the assay of a panel of cytokines, combined with transcriptome and protein analyses, we discover that iPS-CM contains high levels of platelet-derived growth factor AA (PDGF-AA), insulin-like growth factor binding protein (IGFBP)-2, transforming growth factor (TGF)-α and IGFBP-6, which are responsible for the upregulation of gene and protein markers with RPE phenotypes and downregulation of gene and protein markers with epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) phenotypes for RPE cells in iPS-CM when compared to those in NM. Moreover, compared to cultures on tissue culture plates (TCP), RPE cells on FLI-lenticule display more microvilli and cilium in accordance with the results in terms of RNA-Seq data, quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) expression, immunofluorescence staining, and western blot assays. Furthermore, acellular FLI-lenticule exhibits biocompatibility after rabbit subretinal implantation by 30 days through electroretinography and histological examination. Thus, we determined that engineered RPE sheets treated by iPS-CM in conjunction with FLI-lenticule scaffold aid in enhanced RPE characteristics and cilium assembly. Such a strategy to construct RPE sheets is a promising avenue for developing RPE cell therapy, disease models and drug screening tools. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: In vitro generation of a functional RPE monolayer sheet is useful and promising for RPE cell therapy. Here, we constructed engineered RPE sheets treated by iPS-CM in conjunction with FLI-lenticule scaffolds to help in enhanced RPE characteristics and cilium assembly. Such a strategy to generate RPE sheets is a promising avenue for developing RPE cell therapy, disease models and drug screening tools., (Copyright © 2019 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

X-linked juvenile retinoschisis (XLRS) is one of the most severely affected genetic causes of irreversible retinal degeneration diseases in young males, especially school-age boys. Here, we generated induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from a Chinese 11-year-old male with clinically diagnosed XLRS. Urine sample was collected with appropriate cooperation, then isolated cells were expanded for subsequent reprogramming procedure using integration-free Sendai virus. The newly derived CSUASOi001-A iPS cell line harboring the c.304C > T mutation in the RS1 gene (p.R102W) provides a useful resource to investigate pathogenic mechanisms in XLRS., (Copyright © 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

We have established an induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell line using urine-derived cells from a 27-year-old male patient with retinitis pigmentosa associated with point mutations in the USH2A gene. Feeder-free culture conditions and the integration-free CytoTune™-iPS 2.0 Sendai Reprogramming Kit were used., (Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from somatic cells can be reprogrammed to provide an unlimited cell resource showing great potential in disease modeling and regenerative medicine. However, the traditional method for reprogramming cells into iPSCs using genome-integrating retro- or lenti-viruses remain an obstacle for its application in clinical settings. We tried the possibility to generate pre-iPSCs from human adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) by nongenetic reprogramming using recombinant cell-penetrating proteins OCT4/KLF4/SOX2 (PTD-OKS) and the cocktail of small molecules (VCFZ). Our experimental results demonstrated that PTD-OKS in combination with VCFZ (VCFZ+OKS) could significantly enhance the stemness of ADSCs and easily get pre-iPSCs after 25 days treatments. The pre-iPSCs showed similar morphology to iPSCs, which were positive for alkaline phosphatase staining. Furthermore, RT-polymerase chain reaction analysis showed that VCFZ+OKS could significantly upregulate the expression of OCT4, KLF4, SOX2, and NANOG gene after 25 days treatment. And immunofluorescence staining also showed that the protein makers of pluripotent stem cell were positively expressed in VCFZ+OKS treated group. Our data suggest that nongenetic-mediated reprogramming from ADSCs may be a promising stem cell sources for cell therapy in the near future.