TY - JOUR
T1 - Adult human periodontal ligament-derived stem cells delay retinal degeneration and maintain retinal function in RCS rats
AU - Huang, Li
AU - Li, Zongyi
AU - Tian, Haibin
AU - Wang, Weiguo
AU - Cui, Dawei
AU - Zhou, Zhe
AU - Chen, Xiao
AU - Cheung, Herman S.
AU - Xu, Guo Tong
AU - Chen, Yu
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81400416 and 81601844) and the Scientific Technology Projects of Health and Family Planning Commission of Zhejiang Province (2017KY066).
PY - 2017/12/22
Y1 - 2017/12/22
N2 - Background: Retinal degeneration (RD) is a leading cause of irreversible blindness, affecting millions of people worldwide. Stem cell transplantation has been considered a promising therapy for retinal degenerative diseases. This study aimed to investigate the therapeutic potential of human periodontal ligament-derived stem cells (hPDLSCs) for intervention in the progress of this degeneration in the Royal College Surgeons (RCS) rat. Methods: hPDLSCs were injected into the subretinal space of 3-week-old RCS rats. Control animals received a phosphate-buffered saline injection or were untreated. Retinal function was assessed by electroretinography recording. Eyes were collected afterward for histology and molecular studies. Results: Retinal function maintenance was observed at 2 weeks and persisted for up to 8 weeks following hPDLSC transplantation. Retinal structure preservation was demonstrated in hPDLSC-transplanted eyes at 4 and 8 weeks following transplantation, as reflected in the preservation of outer nuclear layer thickness and gene expression of Rho, Crx, and Opsin. The percentage of terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling-positive apoptotic photoreceptors was significantly lower in the hPDLSC-injected retinas than in those of the control groups. hPDLSCs were also found to express multiple neurotrophic factors, including vascular endothelial growth factor, bioactive basic fibroblast growth factor, brain-derived neurotrophic factor, neurotrophin-3, insulin-like growth factor 1, nerve growth factor, and glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that hPDLSC transplantation is effective in delaying photoreceptor loss and provides significant preservation of retinal function in RCS rats. This study supports further exploration of hPDLSCs for treating RD.
AB - Background: Retinal degeneration (RD) is a leading cause of irreversible blindness, affecting millions of people worldwide. Stem cell transplantation has been considered a promising therapy for retinal degenerative diseases. This study aimed to investigate the therapeutic potential of human periodontal ligament-derived stem cells (hPDLSCs) for intervention in the progress of this degeneration in the Royal College Surgeons (RCS) rat. Methods: hPDLSCs were injected into the subretinal space of 3-week-old RCS rats. Control animals received a phosphate-buffered saline injection or were untreated. Retinal function was assessed by electroretinography recording. Eyes were collected afterward for histology and molecular studies. Results: Retinal function maintenance was observed at 2 weeks and persisted for up to 8 weeks following hPDLSC transplantation. Retinal structure preservation was demonstrated in hPDLSC-transplanted eyes at 4 and 8 weeks following transplantation, as reflected in the preservation of outer nuclear layer thickness and gene expression of Rho, Crx, and Opsin. The percentage of terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling-positive apoptotic photoreceptors was significantly lower in the hPDLSC-injected retinas than in those of the control groups. hPDLSCs were also found to express multiple neurotrophic factors, including vascular endothelial growth factor, bioactive basic fibroblast growth factor, brain-derived neurotrophic factor, neurotrophin-3, insulin-like growth factor 1, nerve growth factor, and glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that hPDLSC transplantation is effective in delaying photoreceptor loss and provides significant preservation of retinal function in RCS rats. This study supports further exploration of hPDLSCs for treating RD.
KW - Periodontal ligament
KW - Retinal degeneration
KW - Stem cells
KW - Therapy
KW - Transplantation
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85039066360&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85039066360&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1186/s13287-017-0731-y
DO - 10.1186/s13287-017-0731-y
M3 - Article
C2 - 29273085
AN - SCOPUS:85039066360
VL - 8
JO - Stem Cell Research and Therapy
JF - Stem Cell Research and Therapy
SN - 1757-6512
IS - 1
M1 - 290
ER -