Abstract
Purpose :
To probe whether human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived corneal endothelial cells (hiPSC-derived CEnCs) could be used as biologically equivalent of human primary cells.
Methods :
The expression of a panel of CEnC specific markers are examined by both quantitative PCR and immunocytochemistry analyses. Cell proliferation, maturation and ability to form a corneal endothelium-like monolayer in culture have been studied.
Results :
The iPSC-derived CEnCs remain proliferative and retain typical polygonal shape while forming a monolayer even after 10 passages in culture. The inhibition of cell signaling pathway that reduced YAP activity was found to dampen the cell growth and promote maturation of hiPSC-derived CEnCs in culture. The changes in the expression and distribution of corneal barrier, pump and scaffold proteins have been observed. The preference of cell growth and forming a monolayer on different substrates have also been investigated.
Conclusions :
Our work demonstrates the potential of hiPSC-derived CEnCs, which can be generated consistently and unlimitedly in a laboratory, to serve as a useful biosimilar cell model for mechanistic and translational studies on corneal endothelial dystrophy.
This abstract was presented at the 2019 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Vancouver, Canada, April 28 - May 2, 2019.