Dr. Rebecca Carrier presented at the MRS (Materials Research Society) Annual Meeting in Boston this past Fall. The MRS Fall Meeting showcases leading interdisciplinary research in both fundamental and applied areas presented by scientists around the world. This year, MRS celebrated it’s 50th year of advancing materials research and the careers of Members driving innovation in the field.
The work presented at the conference was titled: “ECM Based Hydrogel Delivery Vehicles and 3D Injection Model for Human Retinal Progenitor Cell Transplantation”, and highlights work from Peng Zhao, among others.
Abstract Highlights:
Retinal degenerative diseases caused by photoreceptor cell loss and damage are the leading cause of blindness worldwide. Treatments, including gene therapy, drug, and neuroprotective approach, mainly focus on slowing down the degeneration process rather than reversing it. Retinal cells implanted into the subretinal space have been shown to integrate within host retina, improving visual function in models of retinal degeneration1. One barrier to clinical success is the loss, through efflux and death, of the majority (>99%) of implanted cells. A factor likely contributing to cell death is the host microenvironment of the subretinal space after a high cell density (~105 cells/ul) bolus injection (e.g., lacking oxygen/nutrients, missing physical support, and chemical cues). Recent studies have demonstrated that the delivery of retinal progenitor cells (RPCs) using polymer scaffolds results in improved cell survival and differentiation with associated increases in RPC integration. However, current polymer scaffolds still result in minimal overall integration (<2%). We have established an in vitro bolus injection model mimicking clinical subretinal injection to explore the impact of bolus injection on human RPCs viability. Studies using this model have revealed that indeed RPCs are damaged during the injection process, leading to cell death…Ultimately, this information can be used to guide design of cell delivery vehicles for human RPCs transplantation with improved post-injection survival.