10.1371/journal.pone.0143669
Tanja Ilmarinen
Tanja
Ilmarinen
Hanna Hiidenmaa
Hanna
Hiidenmaa
Peeter Kööbi
Peeter
Kööbi
Soile Nymark
Soile
Nymark
Anni Sorkio
Anni
Sorkio
Jing-Huan Wang
Jing-Huan
Wang
Boris V. Stanzel
Boris
V. Stanzel
Fabian Thieltges
Fabian
Thieltges
Päivi Alajuuma
Päivi
Alajuuma
Olli Oksala
Olli
Oksala
Marko Kataja
Marko
Kataja
Hannu Uusitalo
Hannu
Uusitalo
Heli Skottman
Heli
Skottman
Ultrathin Polyimide Membrane as Cell Carrier for Subretinal Transplantation of Human Embryonic Stem Cell Derived Retinal Pigment Epithelium
Public Library of Science
2015
coherence tomography
pigment epithelial
rat eyes
oct
Ultrathin Polyimide Membrane
subretinal suspension injection
subretinal space
permeability properties
dystrophic RCS rats
Human Embryonic Stem Cell Derived Retinal Pigment Epithelium
cell infiltration
ultrathin PI membrane
subretinal transplantation
Cell Carrier
erg
RPE transplantation
105 days
onl
fundus photography
subretinal PI membrane transplantations
Royal College
vivo effects
2015-11-25 03:45:03
Dataset
https://plos.figshare.com/articles/dataset/_Ultrathin_Polyimide_Membrane_as_Cell_Carrier_for_Subretinal_Transplantation_of_Human_Embryonic_Stem_Cell_Derived_Retinal_Pigment_Epithelium_/1612754
<div><p>In this study, we investigated the suitability of ultrathin and porous polyimide (PI) membrane as a carrier for subretinal transplantation of human embryonic stem cell (hESC) -derived retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells in rabbits. The <i>in vivo</i> effects of hESC-RPE cells were analyzed by subretinal suspension injection into Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) rats. Rat eyes were analyzed with electroretinography (ERG) and histology. After analyzing the surface and permeability properties of PI, subretinal PI membrane transplantations with and without hESC-RPE were performed in rabbits. The rabbits were followed for three months and eyes analyzed with fundus photography, ERG, optical coherence tomography (OCT), and histology. Animals were immunosuppressed with cyclosporine the entire follow-up time. In dystrophic RCS rats, ERG and outer nuclear layer (ONL) thickness showed some rescue after hESC-RPE injection. Cells positive for human antigen were found in clusters under the retina 41 days post-injection but not anymore after 105 days. In rabbits, OCT showed good placement of the PI. However, there was loss of pigmentation on the hESC-RPE-PI over time. In the eyes with PI alone, no obvious signs of inflammation or retinal atrophy were observed. In the presence of hESC-RPE, mononuclear cell infiltration and retinal atrophy were observed around the membranes. The porous ultrathin PI membrane was well-tolerated in the subretinal space and is a promising scaffold for RPE transplantation. However, the rejection of the transplanted cells seems to be a major problem and the given immunosuppression was insufficient for reduction of xenograft induced inflammation.</p></div>