inducing 3d neural retina formation from cultured h9-embryonic stem cells for stem-cell based therapies

Forbedret 3D neural nethindedifferentiering fra menneskelige embryonale stamceller

The eye serves as the primary source of information among human sensory organs, with the retina being the principal visual sensory tissue in mammalian eyes1. Retinopathy stands as one of the primary global causes of eye diseases, leading to blindness2. Approximately 2.85 million people worldwide suffer from varying degrees of vision impairment due to retinopathy3. Consequently, investigating its pathogenesis is crucial for early diagnosis and timely treatment. Most studies on human retinopathy have primarily focused on animal models4,5,6. However, the human retina is a complex, multi-layered tissue comprising various cell types. Traditional two-dimensional (2D) cell culture and animal model systems typically fail to faithfully recapitulate the normal spatiotemporal development and drug metabolism of the native human retina7,8.
Recently, 3D culture techniques have evolved to generate tissue-like organs from pluripotent stem cells (PSCs)9,10. Retinal organoids (ROs) generated from human PSCs in a 3D suspension culture system not only contain seven retinal cell types but also exhibit a distinct stratified structure similar to the human retina in vivo11,12,13. Human PSC-derived ROs have gained popularity and widespread availability and are currently the best in vitro models for studying the development and disease of the human retina14,15. Over the past few decades, numerous researchers have demonstrated that human PSCs, including embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), can differentiate into ROs using various induction protocols. These advancements hold enormous potential in retinopathy for disease modeling, drug screening, and stem cell-based therapies16,17,18.
However, the generation of neural retina (NR) from human pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) is a complex, cumbersome, and time-consuming process. Furthermore, batch-to-batch variations in tissue organoids may lead to lower reproducibility of results19,20. Numerous intrinsic and extrinsic factors can influence the yield of retinal organoids (ROs), such as the number or species of starting cells and the use of transcription factors and small-molecule compounds21,22,23. Since the first human RO was generated by the Sasai laboratory11, multiple modifications have been proposed over the years to enhance the ease and effectiveness of the induction process13,21,24,25. Unfortunately, to date, no gold standard protocol has been established for generating ROs in all laboratories. Indeed, there is a certain degree of discrepancy in ROs resulting from different induction methods, as well as wide variation in the expression of retinal markers and the robustness of their structure22,26. These issues may severely complicate sample collection and the interpretation of study findings. Therefore, a more consolidated and robust differentiation protocol is needed to maximize efficiency with minimal heterogeneity of RO generation.
This study describes an optimized induction protocol based on a combination of Kuwahara et al.12 and D&#246;pper et al.27 with detailed instructions. The new method significantly reduces the probability of organoid vesiculation and fusion, increasing the success rate of generating NR. This development holds great promise for disease modeling, drug screening, and cell therapy applications for retinal disorders.

Forfatter Spotlight: Enkel og effektiv neural retina organoidproduktion til sygdomsmodellering

Generering af neurale nethinden fra menneskelige pluripotente stamceller

Our group focuses on understanding the pathogenesis and the treatment of human retinal diseases. Our protocol describes a optimized induction technique to generate a neural retina that significantly reduce the probability of vasculation and fusion to increase the success rate of retinal production until day 60. The modified method is simpler and more efficient in generating neural retina, which can prove to be a better disease model for drug screening and cell therapy.In the future, we aim to study the effects of physicochemical factors on retinal development and underlying mechanism using our retinal organoid model.

Inducering af 3D neural nethindedannelse fra dyrkede H9-embryonale stamceller til stamcellebaserede terapier

Til at begynde med skal H9-embryonale stamceller optøes og dyrkes i vedligeholdelsesmedium indeholdende Y-27632. På dag nul, når kolonierne bliver 70% sammenflydende, vask dem med 2 ml DPBS og inkuber derefter cellerne med 0,5 ml celledissociationsopløsning indeholdende 20 mikromol pr. Liter Y-27632. For at afbryde fordøjelsen tilsættes 3 ml vedligeholdelsesmedium indeholdende 20 mikromol pr. Liter Y-27632.For at pelletere cellerne centrifugeres glasset ved 190 G i fem minutter, og supernatanten kasseres. Resuspender pellet i en milliliter vækstfaktorfrit kemisk defineret medium med Y-27632. Efter at have talt cellerne, tilsættes 1,2 millioner celler til 10 ml vækstfaktorfrit kemisk defineret medium og blandes godt.Dispenser derefter 100 mikroliter cellesuspension til hver brønd i en 96 brønd konisk bundplade. Inkuberes i en befugtet 5% kuldioxid atmosfære. For at fremkalde nethindedannelse på dag seks tilsættes medium indeholdende BMP4 til hver brønd i en 96 brønd V-bundplade og inkuberes igen.På dag ni, 12 og 15 skal du erstatte halvdelen af det brugte medium med frisk medium uden BMP4. På dag 18 overføres forsigtigt de dannede embryoidlegemer til et 15 ml centrifugerør. Efter den naturlige udfældning af embryoidlegemerne fjernes supernatanten forsigtigt og skylles med det neurale retinadifferentieringsmedium.Derefter placeres embryoidlegemerne i en seks brøndplade med lav absorption og inkuberes pladen igen. På dag 21 viste Brightfield-billeder kontinuerlig neuroepitelstruktur i den neurale nethinden genereret ved hjælp af denne metode. Den retinale induktionssuccesrate var signifikant højere, og retinale organoider genereret ved hjælp af denne protokol var ens i størrelse og morfologi sammenlignet med andre metoder.

Research

JoVE Journal

Developmental Biology

Inducing 3D Neural Retina Formation from Cultured H9-Embryonic Stem Cells for Stem-Cell Based Therapies

Generating Neural Retina from Human Pluripotent Stem Cells

Retinopathy is one of the main causes of blindness worldwide. Investigating its pathogenesis is essential for the early diagnosis and timely treatment of ...

Culturing H9-Embryonic Stem Cells for Generation of Human Neural Retina

Dyrkning af H9-embryonale stamceller til generering af human neural nethinden 