In vitro generation of photoreceptors from stem cells is of great interest for the development of regenerative medicine approaches for patients affected by retinal degeneration and for high throughput drug screens for these diseases. In this study, we show unprecedented high percentages of rod-fated cells from retinal stem cells of the adult ciliary epithelium. Molecular characterization of rod-like cells demonstrates that they lose ciliary epithelial characteristics but acquire photoreceptor features. Rod maturation was evaluated at two levels: gene expression and electrophysiological functionality. Here we present a strong correlation between phototransduction protein expression and functionality of the cells in vitro. We demonstrate that in vitro generated rod-like cells express cGMP-gated channels that are gated by endogenous cGMP. We also identified voltage-gated channels necessary for rod maturation and viability. This level of analysis for the first time provides evidence that adult retinal stem cells can generate highly homogeneous rod-fated cells.

Functional and Molecular Characterization of Rod-like Cells from Retinal Stem Cells Derived from the Adult Ciliary Epithelium / G. C., Demontis; C., Aruta; Comitato, Antonella; A., De Marzo; Marigo, Valeria. - In: PLOS ONE. - ISSN 1932-6203. - ELETTRONICO. - 7:3(2012), pp. e33338-e33338. [10.1371/journal.pone.0033338]

Functional and Molecular Characterization of Rod-like Cells from Retinal Stem Cells Derived from the Adult Ciliary Epithelium

Comitato, Antonella;MARIGO, Valeria
2012

Abstract

In vitro generation of photoreceptors from stem cells is of great interest for the development of regenerative medicine approaches for patients affected by retinal degeneration and for high throughput drug screens for these diseases. In this study, we show unprecedented high percentages of rod-fated cells from retinal stem cells of the adult ciliary epithelium. Molecular characterization of rod-like cells demonstrates that they lose ciliary epithelial characteristics but acquire photoreceptor features. Rod maturation was evaluated at two levels: gene expression and electrophysiological functionality. Here we present a strong correlation between phototransduction protein expression and functionality of the cells in vitro. We demonstrate that in vitro generated rod-like cells express cGMP-gated channels that are gated by endogenous cGMP. We also identified voltage-gated channels necessary for rod maturation and viability. This level of analysis for the first time provides evidence that adult retinal stem cells can generate highly homogeneous rod-fated cells.
2012
7
3
e33338
e33338
Functional and Molecular Characterization of Rod-like Cells from Retinal Stem Cells Derived from the Adult Ciliary Epithelium / G. C., Demontis; C., Aruta; Comitato, Antonella; A., De Marzo; Marigo, Valeria. - In: PLOS ONE. - ISSN 1932-6203. - ELETTRONICO. - 7:3(2012), pp. e33338-e33338. [10.1371/journal.pone.0033338]
G. C., Demontis; C., Aruta; Comitato, Antonella; A., De Marzo; Marigo, Valeria
File in questo prodotto:
File Dimensione Formato  
Demontis-PLoSONE.pdf

Open access

Tipologia: Versione pubblicata dall'editore
Dimensione 2.7 MB
Formato Adobe PDF
2.7 MB Adobe PDF Visualizza/Apri
Pubblicazioni consigliate

Licenza Creative Commons
I metadati presenti in IRIS UNIMORE sono rilasciati con licenza Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal, mentre i file delle pubblicazioni sono rilasciati con licenza Attribuzione 4.0 Internazionale (CC BY 4.0), salvo diversa indicazione.
In caso di violazione di copyright, contattare Supporto Iris

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11380/713832
Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? 15
  • Scopus 27
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? 26
social impact