Joint Research in RGC Stem Cell Transplants in Mice

Article: MIPT and Harvard researchers grow stem cells to cure glaucoma
Source: Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (Russia), via News Medical  and EurekAlert
Published: April 19, 2021

Donor RGCs (green) survive past 12 months
and form axonal projections to the optic nerve

Researchers presented the first successful attempt to transplant retinal ganglion cells derived from induced pluripotent stem cells, tested in mice. The axons of retinal ganglion cells comprise the optic nerve that transmits visual information from the retina to the brain; it is these axons that are damaged in optic neuropathies, including glaucoma, and could lead to irreversible vision loss. The retinal cells were grown using special organoids and transplanted in mice induced to have glaucoma with microbeads as well as chemically induced neurotoxity. The transplanted donor cells exceeded a 65% success rate and survived in the disease-like microenvironments for up to 12 months (a long duration for mice), independent of the donor's age and location of transplantation. The researchers confirmed that the cells could receive signals from other neurons in the retina, but the ability of the cells to transmit signals to the brain was not definitively assessed "due to the relatively low number of cells surviving the procedure." This proof-of-concept technology is many years from clinical applications. However, as an author of the study explains, "This technique will enable countless future studies into the cross talk between transplanted cells and the host microenvironment. This will allow us to find and employ molecular mechanisms which will help transplanted cells to function properly and, as a result, improve visual function when transplanted in the right quantity." Because the eye is an immune-privileged organ, future possibilities could include growing cells in advance from universal donors (as compared to autologous transplants), and storing them in cell banks for the selection of the most suitable cells for transplantation in different patients. They look forward to the research bringing "hope and excitement for cell therapy development."

My rating of this study: ⭐⭐

Oswald J, Kegeles E, Minelli T, et  al. "Transplantation of miPSC/mESC-derived retinal ganglion cells into healthy and glaucomatous retinas." Molecular Therapy - Methods and Clinical Development.  10 March 2021. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.omtm.2021.03.004