Facile isolation and the characterization of human retinal stem cells

• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0401596101
• Publication Date: 2004-10-26T00:16:44Z
• Authors: Brenda L. K. Coles; Brigitte Angénieux; Tomoyuki Inoue; Katia Del Rio-Tsonis; Jason R. Spence; Roderick R. McInnes; Yvan Arsenijevic; Derek van der Kooy
• Keywords: Adult; 0301 basic medicine; Adolescent; chemistry: Retina; Cell Separation; Chick Embryo; Mice, SCID; In Vitro Techniques; Retina; Mice; 03 medical and health sciences; Mice, Inbred NOD; Animals; Humans; Child; Aged; methods: Cell Separation; Multipotent Stem Cells; Infant, Newborn; Infant; Cell Differentiation; Middle Aged; cytology: Multipotent Stem Cells; Child, Preschool; Stem Cell Transplantation

This study identifies and characterizes retinal stem cells (RSCs) in early postnatal to seventh-decade human eyes. Different subregions of eyes were dissociated cultured by using a clonal sphere-forming assay. The derived only from the pars plicata plana ciliary margin, at frequency approximately 1:500. To test for long-term self-renewal, both sphere assay monolayer passaging used. By single assay, primary spheres replated, individual demonstrated 100% with giving rise one or more new each subsequent passage. plated under differentiation conditions potential their progeny. produced all different cell types, demonstrating multipotentiality. Therefore, eye contains small population (approximately equal 10,000 per eye) that have stem-cell characteristics (proliferation, multipotentiality). vivo progeny, we transplanted cells, containing progenitors, into day 1 NOD/SCID mice embryonic chick progeny RSCs able survive, migrate, integrate, differentiate neural retina, especially as photoreceptors. Their facile isolation, integration, suggest eventually may be valuable treating diseases.