Research progress of stem cells in the treatment of retinal degenerative diseases

Abstract

Eyes are important human organs, and retinal degenerative diseases can cause irreversible blindness.Up to date, cell transplantation is an important method for the treatment of degenerative eye diseases.Because the number of adult eye stem cells is rather limited, it is still very difficult to activate endogenous adult stem cells as a way to treat degenerative eye diseases.Therefore, photoreceptor cells (photoreceptor) and retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells generated from pluripotent stem cells include embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) can be an effective source of cells for transplantation.This article described the major types of retinal degenerative diseases including retinitis pigmentosa (RP) and age-related macular degeneration (AMD) by focusing on their pathological process and development of stem cell transplantation.We reviewed the related stem cell therapies and research status of two different vulnerable cells, RPE and photoreceptor cell in degenerative ophthalmopathy.We also discussed the value and limitations of cell transplantation therapy and the prospect of future treatment.