Transplantation of Embryonic and Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived 3D Retinal Sheets into Retinal Degenerative Mice

Abstract

In this article, we show that mouse embryonic stem cell- or induced pluripotent stem cell-derived 3D retinal tissue developed a structured outer nuclear layer (ONL) with complete inner and outer segments even in an advanced retinal degeneration model (rd1) that lacked ONL. We also observed host-graft synaptic connections by immunohistochemistry. This study provides a "proof of concept" for retinal sheet transplantation therapy for advanced retinal degenerative diseases.