Retinal tissue engineering

Retina is a multilayered tissue lining the back of the eye and it contains light sensitive cells that translate light into nerve impulses to form a visual image in brain. During last decades, million people were affected by diseases related to retina degeneration such as retinitis pigmentosa (RP) and age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Several mechanisms can result in deterioration of retina which finally leads to blindness. There are some treatment strategies such as gene therapy or anti angiogenic drugs , which can delay disease progression. However, there is a requirement for other methods like cell therapy which aims to regenerate retina by transplanting different cells, such as progenitor cells, fetal cells, embryonic stem cells, and induced pluripotent stem cells. First trials in this category injected these cells into the subretinal space and was expected these donor cells to migrate and integrate in the host retina and restore the vision. Despite encouraging results, it was demonstrated that bolus injection method causes deficient localized tissue grafts. Therefore, tissue engineering method with a successful history in bone, cartilage and vasculature brought new methods and polymeric retinal tissue engineering approach have emerged. This article will describe the current techniques concerning about gene therapy, cell therapy and transplantation of scaffolds using different polymers for retinal tissue engineering application. Various types of cells and materials that have been used for transplantation to the subretinal space, will be discussed. Furthermore, the advantages and challenges of several therapies will be summarized to obtain a better treatment for retinal diseases

کلیدواژه ها:

Retinal tissue engineering ، Gene therapy ، Cell therapy ، Scaffolds