SummaryIn this article, we show that mouse embryonic stem cell- or induced pluripotent stem cell-derived 3D retinal tissue developed a structured outer nuclear layer (ONL) with complete inner and outer segments even in an advanced retinal degeneration model (rd1) that lacked ONL. We also observed host-graft synaptic connections by immunohistochemistry. This study provides a “proof of concept” for retinal sheet transplantation therapy for advanced retinal degenerative diseases.

The v2 = 1←0, 2←1, and 3←2 bands of the methyl radical were observed in the gas phase by infrared tunable diode laser spectroscopy at 606.4531, 681.6369, and 731.0757 cm−1. The observed vibration–rotation spectra were analyzed to derive precise values for the rotational constants, centrifugal distortion constants, and spin–rotation interaction constants. The absence of N = odd, K = 0 levels in the v2 = even states and of N = even, K = 0 levels in the v2 = odd states was confirmed, indicating that each vibrational state is nondegenerate. The observed band origins, when analyzed, led to a potential function for the out-of-plane bending vibration that has no potential hump at the planar configuration. The large negative anharmonicity of this potential was ascribed to a vibronic interaction with excited electronic states. The methyl radical was generated by a 60 Hz discharge in di-tert-butyl peroxide and was found to have a lifetime of about 1.4 msec; its concentration in the absorption cell was estimated to be about 1013 molecules/cm3, provided that a recombination reaction is the only route for eliminating methyl radicals.

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SummaryRecent success in functional recovery by photoreceptor precursor transplantation in dysfunctional retina has led to an increased interest in using embryonic stem cell (ESC) or induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived retinal progenitors to treat retinal degeneration. However, cell-based therapies for end-stage degenerative retinas that have lost the outer nuclear layer (ONL) are still a big challenge. In the present study, by transplanting mouse iPSC-derived retinal tissue (miPSC retina) in the end-stage retinal-degeneration model (rd1), we visualized the direct contact between host bipolar cell terminals and the presynaptic terminal of graft photoreceptors by gene labeling, showed light-responsive behaviors in transplanted rd1 mice, and recorded responses from the host retina with transplants by ex vivo micro-electroretinography and ganglion cell recordings using a multiple-electrode array system. Our data provides a proof of concept for transplanting ESC/iPSC retinas to restore vision in end-stage retinal degeneration.

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