Knappschaft Hospital Saar

2 ARTICLES PUBLISHED IN JoVE

Medicine

A Step by Step Protocol for Subretinal Surgery in Rabbits

Sami Al-Nawaiseh¹, Fabian Thieltges¹, Zengping Liu^1,2, Claudine Strack¹, Ralf Brinken¹, Norbert Braun³, Marc Wolschendorf³, Arvydas Maminishkis⁵, Nicole Eter⁴, Boris V. Stanzel^1,6

¹Department of Ophthalmology, University of Bonn, ²Department of Ophthalmology, National University of Singapore, ³Geuder AG, ⁴Department of Ophthalmology, University of Münster, ⁵Section on Epithelial and Retinal Physiology and Disease, National Eye Institute/National Institutes of Health, ⁶Surgical Retina Department, Singapore National Eye Centre

Retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) replacement strategies and gene-based therapy are considered for several retinal degenerative conditions. For clinical translation, large eye animal models are required to study surgical techniques applicable in patients. Here we present a rabbit model for subretinal surgery geared towards RPE transplantation, which is versatile and cost-efficient.

Medicine

Retinal Pigment Epithelium Transplantation in a Non-human Primate Model for Degenerative Retinal Diseases

Ivan Seah^*1,2, Zengping Liu^*1,3,4, Daniel Soo Lin Wong¹, Wendy Wong², Graham E. Holder^1,2,5, Veluchamy Amutha Barathi^1,4,6, Gopal Lingam^1,2,4, Xinyi Su^1,2,3,4, Boris V. Stanzel^1,7,8

¹Department of Ophthalmology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, ²Department of Ophthalmology, National University Hospital, Singapore, ³Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), ⁴Singapore Eye Research Institute (SERI), ⁵UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, ⁶Academic Clinical Program in Ophthalmology, Duke-NUS Medical School, ⁷Macula Center Saar, Eye Clinic Sulzbach, Knappschaft Hospital Saar, ⁸Department of Ophthalmology, University of Bonn

The non-human primate (NHP) is an ideal model for studying human retinal cellular therapeutics due to the anatomical and genetic similarities. This manuscript describes a method for submacular transplantation of retinal pigment epithelial cells in the NHP eye and strategies to prevent intraoperative complications associated with macular manipulation.