Open AccessBrief Report: Self‐Organizing Neuroepithelium from Human Pluripotent Stem Cells Facilitates Derivation of Photoreceptors
Author(s) -
Boucherie Cédric,
Mukherjee Sayandip,
Henckaerts Els,
Thrasher Adrian J.,
Sowden Jane C.,
Ali Robin R.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
stem cells
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.159
H-Index - 229
eISSN - 1549-4918
pISSN - 1066-5099
DOI - 10.1002/stem.1268
Subject(s) - retinitis pigmentosa , biology , induced pluripotent stem cell , embryonic stem cell , neuroepithelial cell , stem cell , transplantation , microbiology and biotechnology , regenerative medicine , retina , neuroscience , retinal , progenitor cell , retinal degeneration , anatomy , neural stem cell , genetics , medicine , botany , gene
Retinitis pigmentosa, other inherited retinal diseases, and age‐related macular degeneration lead to untreatable blindness because of the loss of photoreceptors. We have recently shown that transplantation of mouse photoreceptors can result in improved vision. It is therefore timely to develop protocols for efficient derivation of photoreceptors from human pluripotent stem (hPS) cells. Current methods for photoreceptor derivation from hPS cells require long periods of culture and are rather inefficient. Here, we report that formation of a transient self‐organized neuroepithelium from human embryonic stem cells cultured together with extracellular matrix is sufficient to induce a rapid conversion into retinal progenitors in 5 days. These retinal progenitors have the ability to differentiate very efficiently into Crx + photoreceptor precursors after only 10 days and subsequently acquire rod photoreceptor identity within 4 weeks. Directed differentiation into photoreceptors using this protocol is also possible with human‐induced pluripotent stem (hiPS) cells, facilitating the use of patient‐specific hiPS cell lines for regenerative medicine and disease modeling. S TEM C ELLS 2013;31:408–414