title: Regenerative Medicine: Solution in Sight.
abstract: The retina, like other central nervous system tissues, has poor regenerative properties in humans. Therefore, diseases that cause retinal cell loss, such as Age-related macular degeneration (AMD), retinitis pigmentosa (RP), Leber congenital amaurosis, Usher syndrome, glaucoma, and diabetic retinopathy, typically result in permanent visual impairment. Stem cell technologies have revolutionized our ability to produce neural cells in abundant supply. Much stem cell research effort is focused on producing the required cell types for cell replacement, or to generate disease-in-a-dish models to elucidate novel disease mechanisms for therapeutic development. Here we review the recent advances in stem cell studies relevant to producing RPE and retinal cells, and highlight future directions.
authors.affiliation: Neural Stem Cell Institute, Regenerative Research Foundation, 12144, Rensselaer, NY, USA. qingjiewang@neuralsci.org.
authors.forename: Qingjie
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Neural Stem Cell Institute, Regenerative Research Foundation, 12144, Rensselaer, NY, USA. jeffreystern@neuralsci.org.
authors.forename: Jeffrey H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Stern
authors.affiliation: Neural Stem Cell Institute, Regenerative Research Foundation, 12144, Rensselaer, NY, USA. sallytemple@neuralsci.org.
authors.forename: Sally
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Temple
mesh_terms: D018929:Cell Culture Techniques / Q000379:methods / Q000639:trends; D000067470:Cellular Reprogramming Techniques / Q000379:methods / Q000639:trends; D053595:Embryonic Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology; D005128:Eye Diseases / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D057026:Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology; D044968:Regenerative Medicine / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends; D055213:Retinal Pigment Epithelium / Q000166:cytology; D033581:Stem Cell Transplantation / Q000379:methods*; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology
keywords: Direct cellular reprogramming; Disease modeling; Progenitor; RPE; Retina; Stem cells; hESC; iPSC