Observation of the transplanted autologous induced pluripotent stem cell-derived retinal pigment epithelial cell sheet using polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography

Abstract

Purpose : Polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography (PS-OCT) provides tissue-specific contrast based on an optical property, i.e., polarization scrambling, termed entropy, of tissue containing melanin such as retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) and choroid. This study aimed to observe and quantitatively evaluate the tissue property of the transplanted autologous induced pluripotent stem cell-derived RPE（iPSC-RPE）cell sheet using PS-OCT.

Methods : This was an observational case study. A 77-year-old Japanese woman with neovascular age-related macular degeneration underwent transplantation of an autologous iPSC-RPE cell sheet under the retina after removal of the fibrovascular membrane. A macular area of 6 mm × 6 mm, which included the iPSC-RPE transplant, was investigated using a clinical prototype of PS-OCT 3 years after surgery. Entropy values of the iPSC-RPE transplant and residual RPE were extracted from the cross-sectional B-scan image (white lines in Fig. 1, white boxes in Fig. 2a). The entropy value of a normal macular region (white box in Fig. 2b) was investigated as a control in a 76-year-old Japanese woman. The average and standard deviation of entropy values in the regions above were compared.

Results : The iPSC-RPE transplant was described as high-entropy material. The entropy values of the iPSC-RPE transplant, the residual RPE, and the normal control were 0.553 ± 0.107, 0.518 ± 0.023, and 0.494 ± 0.138, respectively.

Conclusions : PS-OCT showed that the iPSC-RPE transplant was a high-entropy material. The entropy of the autologous iPSC-RPE transplant was as high as that of the residual RPE.

This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2018 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Honolulu, Hawaii, April 29 - May 3, 2018.

 

Color fundus photography of an eye with the transplanted induced pluripotent stem cell-derived retinal pigment epithelial (iPSC-PRE) cell sheet.

 

Polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography (PS-OCT) entropy B-scan of an eye with the transplanted iPSC-PRE (a). PS-OCT entropy B-scan in a normal case (b).