110837 Journal Article.pdf (642.15 kB)
Enriched retinal ganglion cells derived from human embryonic stem cells
journal contribution
posted on 2023-05-18, 21:38 authored by Gill, KP, Hung, SSC, Sharov, A, Lo, CY, Needham, K, Lidgerwood, GE, Jackson, S, Crombie, DE, Nayagam, BA, Anthony CookAnthony Cook, Alexander HewittAlexander Hewitt, Pebay, A, Wong, RCBOptic neuropathies are characterised by a loss of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) that lead to vision impairment. Development of cell therapy requires a better understanding of the signals that direct stem cells into RGCs. Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) represent an unlimited cellular source for generation of human RGCs in vitro. In this study, we present a 45-day protocol that utilises magnetic activated cell sorting to generate enriched population of RGCs via stepwise retinal differentiation using hESCs. We performed an extensive characterization of these stem cell-derived RGCs by examining the gene and protein expressions of a panel of neural/RGC markers. Furthermore, whole transcriptome analysis demonstrated similarity of the hESC-derived RGCs to human adult RGCs. The enriched hESC-RGCs possess long axons, functional electrophysiological profiles and axonal transport of mitochondria, suggestive of maturity. In summary, this RGC differentiation protocol can generate an enriched population of functional RGCs from hESCs, allowing future studies on disease modeling of optic neuropathies and development of cell therapies.
History
Publication title
Scientific ReportsVolume
6Article number
30552Number
30552Pagination
1-11ISSN
2045-2322Department/School
Wicking Dementia Research Education CentrePublisher
Nature Publishing GroupPlace of publication
United KingdomRights statement
Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Repository Status
- Open