Abstract
Purpose :
For incurable retinal degeneration diseases like age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and retinitis pigmentosa (RP), transplantation of stem cell-derived retinal tissue is a promising potential therapy. However, in advanced dry AMD or RP patients, whose photoreceptor and retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells are both degenerated, transplanting either photoreceptor or RPE cells alone would not provide long-term vision restoration. In this study, we designed a clinically applicable tool for subretinal implantation of a retinal transplant consisting of both photoreceptor and RPE cells derived from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), towards the overarching goal of establishing a therapeutic approach to regenerate photoreceptor and RPE cells in these patients.
Methods :
We first conducted an analysis of previously designed tools for subretinal transplantation from other groups to categorize existing practices and barriers to successful retinal transplant delivery. Then, a novel tool was designed for the subretinal delivery of our retinal transplant, and proof-of-concept tests were performed in vitro and in vivo. The morphological evaluation included spectrum domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) performed after the transplantation surgery.
Results :
We designed a prototype of a novel surgical tool for the subretinal delivery of iPSCs-derived retinal transplants. With this tool, the retinal transplant can be grasped and folded into the cannula of the tool. Retinal transplants are well-protected in the manipulation, and no injury or structural change was observed in retinal transplants during the in vitro preliminary tests. During the in vivo transplantation procedure, the bent translucent tip of the cannula allows for accurate subretinal delivery of the transplant under direct vision. Post-operative SD-OCT showed that the retinal transplants were delivered precisely, with no damage to the host retina or choroid, and no significant structural change to the retinal transplant.
Conclusions :
Our novel surgical tool enables iPSCs-derived retinal transplants to be delivered safely and accurately.
This is a 2020 ARVO Annual Meeting abstract.