Producing retinal tissue from human embryonic stem cells is now possible thanks to a team of researchers led by Yoshiki Sasai of the RIKEN Center for the Developmental Biology in Kobe, Japan.
Sasai and his team have developed a novel cell culture method in which embryonic stem (ES) cells are grown in suspension insteadof on a flat surface. ES cells grown under these conditions can organise themselves into complex 3D structures when they are treated with the appropriate growth factors.
Later year, Sasai's team reported that mouse ES cells cultured in this way recapitulate developmental mechanisms and self-organise into a cupped, layered structure that resembles the embryonic eye and contains all the cell types found in the mature retina, including photoreceptor cells.
In their latest study, the team repeated these experiments using human ES cells, and found major differences in how they form eye-like structures.
The structures derived from humans ES cells were substantially larger and thicker than those formed by mouse cells, reflecting the differences in size between the two species.
And unlike the structures formed from mouse cells, the human-based structures also had a tendency to curve more at the edges. Importantly, the human ES cells took significantly longer to form embryonic eyes-more than 100 days compared to just 20 days for mouse cells, presumably reflecting the differences in normal gestation times.
Sasai and his team have developed a novel cell culture method in which embryonic stem (ES) cells are grown in suspension insteadof on a flat surface. ES cells grown under these conditions can organise themselves into complex 3D structures when they are treated with the appropriate growth factors.
Later year, Sasai's team reported that mouse ES cells cultured in this way recapitulate developmental mechanisms and self-organise into a cupped, layered structure that resembles the embryonic eye and contains all the cell types found in the mature retina, including photoreceptor cells.
In their latest study, the team repeated these experiments using human ES cells, and found major differences in how they form eye-like structures.
The structures derived from humans ES cells were substantially larger and thicker than those formed by mouse cells, reflecting the differences in size between the two species.
And unlike the structures formed from mouse cells, the human-based structures also had a tendency to curve more at the edges. Importantly, the human ES cells took significantly longer to form embryonic eyes-more than 100 days compared to just 20 days for mouse cells, presumably reflecting the differences in normal gestation times.
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