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Towards Xeno‐free Differentiation of RPE Cells
Author(s) -
ILMARINEN T,
VAAJASAARI H,
JUUTIUUSITALO K,
NARKILAHTI S,
SUURONEN R,
UUSITALO H,
SKOTTMAN H
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
acta ophthalmologica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.534
H-Index - 87
eISSN - 1755-3768
pISSN - 1755-375X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1755-3768.2011.2232.x
Subject(s) - induced pluripotent stem cell , matrigel , microbiology and biotechnology , cell culture , biology , stem cell , cellular differentiation , retinal pigment epithelium , retinal , embryonic stem cell , gene , biochemistry , genetics
Purpose Stem cell therapy is a potential approach for the replacement of degenerated retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells essential for vision. For therapeutical use, the differentiation of RPE cells from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSC) should be performed in a culture environment fulfilling clinical quality requirements. For example the use of xeno‐products should be avoided as this bears the danger of interspecies transfer of viruses and incorporation of immunogenic molecules. Results Animal‐derived substances, such as fetal bovine serum, mouse fibroblasts, and Matrigel are widely used in the differentiation and culture of hPSC‐RPE cells. Recently, some protocols utilizing human feeders in the culture of pluripotent cells and small molecules in the differentiation process have been published. In our studies, we have also successfully differentiated pigmented cells from hPSC lines without the use of animal cells or serum. These cells show characteristics of RPE cells such as morphology, polarity, expression of genes and proteins typical for RPE cells, and phagocytosis of photoreceptor outer segments. Conclusion Tissue engineering holds a great promise for treating retinal degenerative diseases. To date, RPE‐like cells have been successfully produced from hPSCs and lately the protocols have been developed further towards xeno‐free and defined culture systems enabling clinical grade cell production.