Isolation of Primary Porcine Retinal Pigment Epithelial Cells for In Vitro Modeling

Summary

This protocol outlines the procedure for obtaining and culturing primary retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells from locally sourced porcine eyes. These cells serve as a high-quality alternative to stem cells and are suitable for in vitro retinal research.

Abstract

The retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) is a crucial monolayer in the outer retina responsible for supporting photoreceptors. RPE degeneration commonly occurs in diseases marked by progressive vision loss, such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Research on AMD often relies on human donor eyes or induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) to represent the RPE. However, these RPE sources require extended differentiation periods and substantial expertise for culturing. Additionally, some research institutions, particularly those in rural areas, lack easy access to donor eyes. While a commercially available immortalized RPE cell line (ARPE-19) exists, it lacks essential in vivo RPE features and is not widely accepted in many ophthalmology research publications. There is a pressing need to obtain representative primary RPE cells from a more readily available and cost-effective source. This protocol elucidates the isolation and subculture of primary RPE cells obtained post-mortem from porcine eyes, which can be sourced locally from commercial or academic suppliers. This protocol necessitates common materials typically found in tissue culture labs. The result is a primary, differentiated, and cost-effective alternative to iPSCs, human donor eyes, and ARPE-19 cells.

Introduction

The retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) is a monolayer located in the outer retina between Bruch's membrane and the photoreceptors¹. RPE cells form tight junctions with proteins such as zonula occludens-1 (ZO-1) and possess a distinctive phenotype characterized by pigmentation and hexagonal morphology^2,3. These cells contribute to the blood-retinal barrier, thereby supporting photoreceptor health and maintaining retinal homeostasis^4,5. Additionally, RPE cells play a critical role in vision by absorbing light and recycling ....

Protocol

The eyes used in this procedure are obtained post-mortem from a local, USDA-inspected butcher shop, and no work is performed using live animals. After the animals have been sacrificed, approximately 2 h pass before the eyes are enucleated. As tissue decay may begin to occur, it is important to keep the eyes cool during transport to prevent further decay. In this procedure, the eyes are immediately placed into a refrigerator after enucleation. Subsequently, the bag of eyes is positioned inside a 1000 mL polypropylene beaker and surrounded by ice within an 8 L cooler. It is important not to place the eyes directly on the ice. Once the eyes arrive at the laboratory, the ....

Discussion

This protocol describes how to isolate RPE cells from porcine eyes. Pigmentation and cobblestone morphology are seen within 7 days of isolation (Figure 1B). Furthermore, TEER data indicate tight junction formation²² and a healthy monolayer (Figure 5). These results show that RPE cells isolated with this method are similar to human RPE and can be beneficial in retinal cell culture models.

The eyes used in this m.......

Materials

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
6 Micro-well glass bottom plate with 14 mm micro-well #1 cover glass	Cellvis	P06-14-1-N
Antibiotic-Antimycotic (100x)	Gibco	15240062
Biosafety Cabinet
Calcium Chloride, Dried, Powder, 97%	Alfa Aesar	L13191.30
Cell Strainer	Fisher Scientific	22-363-548	one per eye
Centrifuge
Centrifuge Tubes, 15 mL	Fisher Scientific	05-539-12
Cooler, 8 L	Igloo	32529
Corning Transwell Multiple Well Plate with Permeable Polyester Membrane Inserts	Fisher Scientific	07-200-154	Culture inserts
Cut Resistant Glove	Dowellife	712971375857
Cytiva HyClone Dulbecco's Phosphate Buffered Saline, Solution	Fisher Scientific	SH3026401	for ICC dilutions only
Deionized Water
DMEM, 1x with 4.5 g/L glucose, L-glutamine & sodium pyruvate	Corning	10-013-CV
DNase I from Bovine Pancreas	Sigma Aldrich	DN25
DPBS/Modified - calcium - magnesium	Cytiva	SH3002B.02	stored at 4 °C
ELISA kit, Q-Plex Human Angiogenesis (9-Plex)	Quansys Biosciences, Logan, UT
ENDOHM 6 TEER device	World Precision Instruments
Fetal Bovine Serum (FBS)	Avantor	232B20
Fisher BioReagents Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA) DNase- and Protease-free Powder	Fisher Scientific	BP9706100
Flashlight
Formaldehyde, ACS Grade, 36.5% (w/w) to 38.0% (w/w), LabChem	Fisher Scientific	LC146501
Gauze Sponges	Fisher Scientific	22-415-504	One per eye
Goat anti-Mouse IgG (H+L) Highly Cross-Adsorbed Secondary Antibody, Alexa Fluor Plus 647, Invitrogen	Thermo Scientific	A32728	RPE65 secondary antibody
Ice			Crushed prefered
Inverted Phase Contrast Microscope
Invitrogen NucBlue Live ReadyProbes Reagent (Hoechst 33342)	Fisher Scientific	R37605
Iris Fine Tip Scissors, Standard Grade, Curved, 4.5"	Cole-Palmer	EW-10818-05
Iris Scissors, 11 cm, Straight, Tungsten Carbide	Fisher Scientific	50-822-379
LSM-710 Confocal Microscope	Zeiss
Petri Dish, 100 mm x 20 mm	Corning	430167	one per 2-3 eyes and one for dissection surface/waste
Povidone-Iondine Solution, 10%	Equate	49035-050-34
RPE65 Monoclonal Antibody (401.8B11.3D9), Invitrogen	Thermo Scientific	MA116578	RPE65 primary antibody
Scalpel Blades Size 10	Fisher Scientific	22-079-683
Scalpel Handles Style 3	Fisher Scientific	50-118-4164
Surgical Drape, 18 x 26"	Fisher Scientific	50-209-1792
Tissue Culture Incubator			37 °C, 5% CO2, 95% Humidity
Tissue Culture Plates, 6 Wells	VWR	10062-892	One for eye wash and one for seeding
Tri-Cornered Polypropylene Beaker, 1000 mL	Fisher Scientific	14-955-111F
Triton X-100	Sigma Aldrich	T8787
Trypsin 0.25%, 2.21 mM EDTA in HBSS; w/o Ca, Mg, Sodium Bicarbonate	Corning	25053Cl
Tweezers Style 20A	Fisher Scientific	17-467-231
Tweezers Style 2A	Fisher Scientific	50-238-47	for removing neural retina
Tweezers Style 5-SA-PI	Fisher Scientific	17-467-168
Vacuum Aspiration System
Water Bath, 37 °C
ZO-1 Monoclonal Antibody (ZO1-1A12), FITC, Invitrogen	Fisher Scientific	33-911-1	ZO-1 conjugated primary antibody