Adhesive protein-free synthetic hydrogels for retinal pigment epithelium cell culture with low ROS level

Engineering of human retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cell monolayer with low level of reactive oxygen species (ROS) is important for regenerative RPE-based therapies. However, it is still challenging to culture RPE monolayer with low ROS level on soft substrates in vitro. To address this, we developed cytocompatible hydrogels to culture human RPE cell monolayer for future use in regenerative RPE-based therapies. The cell adhesion, proliferation, monolayer formation, morphology, survival, and ROS level of human ARPE-19 cells cultured on the surfaces of negatively charged poly (2-acrylamido-2-methyl propane sulfonic sodium) (PNaAMPS) and neutral poly(N,N-dimethylacrylamide) (PDMAAm) hydrogels with different stiffness were investigated. The importance of hydrogel stiffness on the cell function was firstly highlighted on the base of determined optimal Young's modulus for cultivation of RPE cell monolayer with relatively low ROS level. The construction of RPE cell monolayer with low ROS level on the PNaAMPS hydrogel may hold great potential as promising candidates for transplantation of RPE cell monolayer-hydrogel construct into the subretinal space to repair retinal functions.