The following study was conducted by Scientists from Center for Visual Science, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA; Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA; McPherson Eye Research Institute, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA; Flaum Eye Institute, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA; The Institute of Optics, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA; Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA. Study is published in Stem Cell Reports Journal – Cell Press Publishing as detailed below.
Stem Cell Reports Journal – Cell Press Publishing (2020)
Imaging Transplanted Photoreceptors in Living Nonhuman Primates with Single-Cell Resolution
Highlights
- Longitudinal imaging of single fluorescently tagged donor photoreceptors in primates
- Donor photoreceptor migration and neurite outgrowth were detected in the living eye
- In a photoreceptor ablation model, donor photoreceptors migrated to the OPL
- Donor photoreceptors structurally made synaptic connections with host bipolar cells
Summary
Stem cell-based transplantation therapies offer hope for currently untreatable retinal degenerations; however, preclinical progress has been largely confined to rodent models. Here, we describe an experimental platform for accelerating photoreceptor replacement therapy in the nonhuman primate, which has a visual system much more similar to the human. We deployed fluorescence adaptive optics scanning light ophthalmoscopy (FAOSLO) to noninvasively track transplanted photoreceptor precursors over time at cellular resolution in the living macaque. Fluorescently labeled photoreceptors generated from a CRX+/tdTomato human embryonic stem cell (hESC) reporter line were delivered subretinally to macaques with normal retinas and following selective ablation of host photoreceptors using an ultrafast laser. The fluorescent reporter together with FAOSLO allowed transplanted photoreceptor precursor survival, migration, and neurite formation to be monitored over time in vivo. Histological examination suggested migration of photoreceptor precursors to the outer plexiform layer and potential synapse formation in ablated areas in the macaque eye.
Source:
Stem Cell Reports Journal – Cell Press Publishing
URL: https://www.cell.com/stem-cell-reports/fulltext/S2213-6711(20)30240-X
Citation:
Aboualizadeh, E., M. J. Phillips, et al. (2020). “Imaging Transplanted Photoreceptors in Living Nonhuman Primates with Single-Cell Resolution.” Stem Cell Reports 15(2): 482-497.
