Department of Biomedical and Specialist Surgical Sciences, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy.
Department of Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy.
Drug Discov Today. 2018 Sep;23(9):1672-1679. doi: 10.1016/j.drudis.2018.06.009. Epub 2018 Jun 13.
Retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) is a cell monolayer essential for photoreceptor function and forming the blood-retinal barrier. RPE and retinal neurons share the same origin and a polarized cytoarchitecture. Several factors determine the phagocytosis and permeability of RPE, influencing photoreceptor renewal and drug delivery, efficacy and toxicity. Adult human RPE expresses neuronal markers in vitro, indicating a potential transdifferentiation. Degeneration of the RPE leads to death of photoreceptors and retinal neurons, resulting in the vision loss of retinopathy. Here, we suggest tools for cell engineering to discover new ways for activating the endogenous regeneration of barrier functions and/or of the retinal precursors in RPE cells.
视网膜色素上皮 (RPE) 是一层细胞，对光感受器功能和形成血视网膜屏障至关重要。RPE 和视网膜神经元具有相同的起源和极化的细胞结构。几种因素决定了 RPE 的吞噬作用和通透性，影响光感受器的更新和药物传递、疗效和毒性。体外培养的成人 RPE 表达神经元标志物，表明存在潜在的转分化。RPE 的变性导致光感受器和视网膜神经元死亡，从而导致视网膜病变的视力丧失。在这里，我们建议使用细胞工程工具来发现激活内源性屏障功能和/或 RPE 细胞中视网膜前体细胞再生的新方法。
