SUMMARYRetinal degenerative diseases are one of the main clinical causes of incurable and severe visional impairment. Thus, extensive research effort is put into the development of new causal therapeutic options. Promisingly, a number of studies showed regenerative capacity in specific retinal regions (the ciliary epithelium, retinal pigmented epithelium, iris, and Müller glia cells). However, most recent research studies are based on animal models or in vitro cultured cells, probably because of the limited availability of human posterior eye tissues (vitreous, retina, and choroid). To address this, we showed in our previous reports that eye banks with large numbers of globes collected yearly could set up biorepositories/biobanks where these precious tissues are isolated, quality controlled, and finally stored for scientists and clinicians wanting to access human tissues and test their own hypotheses. These precious human posterior eye tissues could be used for further research purposes, epidemiological studies, and target validation of newly developed drugs. In addition, this could be a promising and challenging option to retrieve potential retinal stem and progenitor cells from different parts of the retina and could be a breakthrough in the future delivery of ex vivo prepared customized (histocompatible) retinal tissue on scaffolds for transplantation purposes. In this Perspective, we will consider how the biorepositories could influence the future strategies for retinal stem cell therapies. STEM CELLS TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE 2015;4:868-872
SIGNIFICANCERetinal degenerative diseases are one of the main causes of severe vision impairment and regenerative medicine is attracting much attention as a potential therapy. Although highly desirable, the reactivation and proliferation of endogenous stem cells in vivo is not sufficient to generate enough cells to restore visual function after retinal injury. Thus, the replacement of exogenously derived normal donor cells is a promising solution. The challenge is to develop therapies with sufficient amounts of cells being harvested or expanded from donor tissues. Eye banks could overcome this issue by harvesting endogenous adult retinal stem cells from different donors.
REGENERATIVE MEDICINE FOR RETINAL DEGENERATIVE DISEASES HAS STARTEDRetinal degenerative diseases (RDDs) caused by inherited monogenetic defects (Stargardt's disease, retinitis pigmentosa [RP]) or acquired multifactorial retinal diseases (age-related macular degeneration [AMD], glaucoma, and diabetic retinopathy) are one of the main clinical causes of often incurable, progressive, and severe visional impairment in the developed world [1]. Thus, extensive research effort is put into the development of new therapeutic options, of which regenerative stem cell (SC)-based therapies are currently attracting much attention. However, although the induction of adult endogenous retinal SCs to regenerate lost neurons would be highly desirable, to date, the reactivation and proliferation of retinal SC in vivo is not suf...