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Tissue Engineering of Outer Blood Retina Barrier for Therapeutic Development
Christopher Hampton1, Kapil Bharti2, Min Jae Song3
1Department of Ophthalmology, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Current Opinion in Biomedical Engineering
|July 4, 2024
Summary
Tissue engineering, including bioprinting and stem cell reprogramming, offers new hope for treating retinal degenerative diseases like age-related macular degeneration by regenerating tissue and enabling drug discovery.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Regenerative Medicine
- Ophthalmology
Background:
- Age-related macular degeneration and other retinal disorders involve outer blood retinal barrier (oBRB) disruption, leading to vision loss.
- Current treatments lack curative options and do not regenerate native-like tissue for advanced disease stages.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review advances in tissue engineering for creating outer blood retinal barrier (oBRB) tissue.
- To explore the use of bioprinting and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) for oBRB regeneration and transplantation.
- To compare these methods with organ-on-a-chip models for physiological studies.
Main Methods:
- Bioprinting techniques for generating functional oBRB tissue.
- Tissue reprogramming using induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) for transplantation.
- Organ-on-a-chip models for simulating physiological conditions.
Main Results:
- Bioprinting and iPSC-based approaches show promise for safe and reliable oBRB production.
- Studies highlight good manufacturing practices and clinical-grade methods for patient safety.
- Recent clinical applications demonstrate the safety and efficacy of these regenerative strategies.
Conclusions:
- Tissue engineering offers a promising avenue for developing curative therapies for retinal degenerative diseases.
- Bioprinting and stem cell therapies can facilitate drug discovery and potential transplantation for patients.
- These advancements pave the way for regenerating native-like tissue in late-stage retinal diseases.
