Differentiated retinal pigmented epithelial (RPE) cells have been obtained from human induced pluripotent stem (hiPS) cells. However, the visual (retinoid) cycle in hiPS-RPE cells has not been adequately examined. Here we determined the expression of functional visual cycle enzymes in hiPS-RPE cells compared with that of isolated wild-type mouse primary RPE (mpRPE) cells in vitro and in vivo. h...

Retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) builds the outer blood-retinal barrier of the eye. Since one typical feature of the autoimmune disease, equine recurrent uveitis (ERU), is the breakdown of this barrier, we recently performed comparative analysis of healthy and uveitic RPE. We identified for the first time peripherin 2, which is responsible for visual perception and retina development, to be loc...

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) causes severe visual impairment due in part to age-dependent impairment of retinal pigment epithelium (RPE). It has been suggested that autologous human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) may represent a useful cell source for the generation of graft RPE. We generated hiPSC-derived RPE (hiPSC-RPE) cell sheets optimized to meet clinical use requirement...

PURPOSE To investigate the role of N-cadherin and hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) in the invasion of collagen type I by human retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells. METHODS RPE sheets from eight human eyes were used for characterization through Western blot analysis of the expression of cadherin in total lysates or after immunoprecipitation with anti beta-catenin antibody. First-passage prima...

www.expert-reviews.com ISSN 1746-9899 © 2011 Expert Reviews Ltd 10.1586/EOP.11.70 The retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) is a cellular monolayer between the neural retina and Bruch’s membrane. It adheres to and interacts with the underlying Bruch’s membrane at its basal side and with the photoreceptor outer segments at its apical side. It contributes to a turnover of photoreceptor outer segment, ...

PURPOSE Varicella zoster virus (VZV)-induced retinitis is characterized by the presence of virus-infected cells in the retinal layer and the ocular infiltration of VZV-specific T cells. Herein, the susceptibility of human retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells to VZV infection and the ability of virus-specific CD4(+) T cells to control VZV infection in RPE cells in vitro is addressed. METHODS...

BACKGROUND Age-related changes in the retina are often accompanied by visual impairment but their mechanistic details remain poorly understood. METHODOLOGY Proteomic studies were pursued toward a better molecular understanding of retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) aging mechanisms. RPE cells were isolated from young adults (3-4 month-old) and old (24-25 month-old) F344BN rats, and separated int...

PURPOSE Retinal pigmented epithelial (RPE) cells may contribute to retinal immune privilege. Daily phagocytosis and degradation of photoreceptor cell outer segment tips by RPE provide substantial amounts of retinal autoantigens for potential MHC occupancy. RPE are well placed to modulate antigen (Ag)-specific activation of T cells in the outer retina under conditions in which inflammatory media...

Retinal and choroidal inflammatory lesions are important causes of visual loss, but the mechanisms regulating intraocular inflammation remain poorly understood. By virtue of its position at the blood-retina barrier, the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells may be critical to the initiation and propagation of ocular inflammation. Previously we showed that cytokine-stimulated RPE cells produce ...

The cytoskeleton of normal and reactive retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) was analyzed immunohistochemically in five light microscopically normal formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded human eyes enucleated because of orbital tumor and in 44 eyes with a uveal melanoma. In 26 eyes, the RPE overlying the tumor was morphologically normal or atrophic; in 18 eyes, hyperplastic changes were present. Normal...