Pluripotent Stem Cell-Based Approaches to Explore and Treat Optic Neuropathies

Sight is a major sense for human and visual impairment profoundly affects quality of life, especially retinal degenerative diseases which are the leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide. As for other neurodegenerative disorders, almost all retinal dystrophies are characterized by the speci...

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Main Authors: Oriane Rabesandratana, Olivier Goureau, Gaël Orieux
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2018-09-01
Series:Frontiers in Neuroscience
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fnins.2018.00651/full
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author Oriane Rabesandratana
Olivier Goureau
Gaël Orieux
author_facet Oriane Rabesandratana
Olivier Goureau
Gaël Orieux
author_sort Oriane Rabesandratana
collection DOAJ
description Sight is a major sense for human and visual impairment profoundly affects quality of life, especially retinal degenerative diseases which are the leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide. As for other neurodegenerative disorders, almost all retinal dystrophies are characterized by the specific loss of one or two cell types, such as retinal ganglion cells, photoreceptor cells, or retinal pigmented epithelial cells. This feature is a critical point when dealing with cell replacement strategies considering that the preservation of other cell types and retinal circuitry is a prerequisite. Retinal ganglion cells are particularly vulnerable to degenerative process and glaucoma, the most common optic neuropathy, is a frequent retinal dystrophy. Cell replacement has been proposed as a potential approach to take on the challenge of visual restoration, but its application to optic neuropathies is particularly challenging. Many obstacles need to be overcome before any clinical application. Beyond their survival and differentiation, engrafted cells have to reconnect with both upstream synaptic retinal cell partners and specific targets in the brain. To date, reconnection of retinal ganglion cells with distal central targets appears unrealistic since central nervous system is refractory to regenerative processes. Significant progress on the understanding of molecular mechanisms that prevent central nervous system regeneration offer hope to overcome this obstacle in the future. At the same time, emergence of reprogramming of human somatic cells into pluripotent stem cells has facilitated both the generation of new source of cells with therapeutic potential and the development of innovative methods for the generation of transplantable cells. In this review, we discuss the feasibility of stem cell-based strategies applied to retinal ganglion cells and optic nerve impairment. We present the different strategies for the generation, characterization and the delivery of transplantable retinal ganglion cells derived from pluripotent stem cells. The relevance of pluripotent stem cell-derived retinal organoid and retinal ganglion cells for disease modeling or drug screening will be also introduced in the context of optic neuropathies.
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spelling doaj.art-1bf5a1bce90740be981a9008764493f92022-12-22T00:34:25ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Neuroscience1662-453X2018-09-011210.3389/fnins.2018.00651399712Pluripotent Stem Cell-Based Approaches to Explore and Treat Optic NeuropathiesOriane RabesandratanaOlivier GoureauGaël OrieuxSight is a major sense for human and visual impairment profoundly affects quality of life, especially retinal degenerative diseases which are the leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide. As for other neurodegenerative disorders, almost all retinal dystrophies are characterized by the specific loss of one or two cell types, such as retinal ganglion cells, photoreceptor cells, or retinal pigmented epithelial cells. This feature is a critical point when dealing with cell replacement strategies considering that the preservation of other cell types and retinal circuitry is a prerequisite. Retinal ganglion cells are particularly vulnerable to degenerative process and glaucoma, the most common optic neuropathy, is a frequent retinal dystrophy. Cell replacement has been proposed as a potential approach to take on the challenge of visual restoration, but its application to optic neuropathies is particularly challenging. Many obstacles need to be overcome before any clinical application. Beyond their survival and differentiation, engrafted cells have to reconnect with both upstream synaptic retinal cell partners and specific targets in the brain. To date, reconnection of retinal ganglion cells with distal central targets appears unrealistic since central nervous system is refractory to regenerative processes. Significant progress on the understanding of molecular mechanisms that prevent central nervous system regeneration offer hope to overcome this obstacle in the future. At the same time, emergence of reprogramming of human somatic cells into pluripotent stem cells has facilitated both the generation of new source of cells with therapeutic potential and the development of innovative methods for the generation of transplantable cells. In this review, we discuss the feasibility of stem cell-based strategies applied to retinal ganglion cells and optic nerve impairment. We present the different strategies for the generation, characterization and the delivery of transplantable retinal ganglion cells derived from pluripotent stem cells. The relevance of pluripotent stem cell-derived retinal organoid and retinal ganglion cells for disease modeling or drug screening will be also introduced in the context of optic neuropathies.https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fnins.2018.00651/fullglaucomaretinal ganglion cells (RGCs)human iPSCscell transplantationdisease modeling
spellingShingle Oriane Rabesandratana
Olivier Goureau
Gaël Orieux
Pluripotent Stem Cell-Based Approaches to Explore and Treat Optic Neuropathies
Frontiers in Neuroscience
glaucoma
retinal ganglion cells (RGCs)
human iPSCs
cell transplantation
disease modeling
title Pluripotent Stem Cell-Based Approaches to Explore and Treat Optic Neuropathies
title_full Pluripotent Stem Cell-Based Approaches to Explore and Treat Optic Neuropathies
title_fullStr Pluripotent Stem Cell-Based Approaches to Explore and Treat Optic Neuropathies
title_full_unstemmed Pluripotent Stem Cell-Based Approaches to Explore and Treat Optic Neuropathies
title_short Pluripotent Stem Cell-Based Approaches to Explore and Treat Optic Neuropathies
title_sort pluripotent stem cell based approaches to explore and treat optic neuropathies
topic glaucoma
retinal ganglion cells (RGCs)
human iPSCs
cell transplantation
disease modeling
url https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fnins.2018.00651/full
work_keys_str_mv AT orianerabesandratana pluripotentstemcellbasedapproachestoexploreandtreatopticneuropathies
AT oliviergoureau pluripotentstemcellbasedapproachestoexploreandtreatopticneuropathies
AT gaelorieux pluripotentstemcellbasedapproachestoexploreandtreatopticneuropathies