Department of Medical Research, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei 11217, Taiwan.
Institute of Pharmacology, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei 11221, Taiwan.
Int J Mol Sci. 2017 Sep 20;18(9):2013. doi: 10.3390/ijms18092013.
Optic neuropathies, such as glaucoma and Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON) lead to retinal ganglion cell (RGC) loss and therefore motivate the application of transplantation technique into disease therapy. However, it is a challenge to direct the transplanted optic nerve axons to the correct location of the retina. The use of appropriate scaffold can promote the proper axon growth. Recently, biocompatible materials have been integrated into the medical field, such as tissue engineering and reconstruction of damaged tissues or organs. We, herein, utilized nano-imprinting to create a scaffold mimicking the in vitro tissue microarchitecture, and guiding the axonal growth and orientation of the RGCs. We observed that the robust, long, and organized axons of human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived RGCs projected axially along the scaffold grooves. The RGCs grown on the scaffold expressed the specific neuronal biomarkers indicating their proper functionality. Thus, based on our in vitro culture system, this device can be useful for the neurophysiological analysis and transplantation for ophthalmic neuropathy treatment.
视神经病变，如青光眼和莱伯遗传性视神经病变（LHON），导致视网膜神经节细胞（RGC）的损失，因此促使将移植技术应用于疾病治疗。然而，引导移植的视神经轴突到达视网膜的正确位置是一个挑战。适当的支架的使用可以促进轴突的适当生长。最近，生物相容性材料已经被整合到医学领域，例如组织工程和受损组织或器官的重建。我们在这里利用纳米压印技术创建了一个支架，模拟体外组织微结构，引导 RGC 的轴突生长和取向。我们观察到，源自人诱导多能干细胞（iPSC）的 RGC 的强壮、长而有组织的轴突沿着支架的凹槽轴向投射。在支架上生长的 RGC 表达特定的神经元生物标志物，表明其具有适当的功能。因此，基于我们的体外培养系统，该装置可用于眼科神经病治疗的神经生理学分析和移植。
