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New method may produce large amounts of RPE-like cells for use in disease therapies
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A newly developed procedure may provide a less labor-intensive means to derive functional retinal pigment epithelial cells from human pluripotent stem cells, a study found.
The protocol generates cells offering many of the characteristics of native retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells, such as pigmentation, morphology, marker expression, polarized membrane and VEGF secretion, the study authors wrote.
Creation of RPE cells from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) has been successful in the past but required hPSCs to be amplified by clump passage followed by a lengthy mechanical dissection process for RPE purification.
In the new method, hPSC amplification is accomplished via clonal propagation followed by two rounds of whole-dish, single-cell dissociation to purify the RPE cells.
The scalable process is a significant step toward mass production of RPE cells, the authors wrote, and may allow for easier study of the disease mechanisms of age-related macular degeneration and provide a foundation for potential cell-based therapies.
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