Survival and long distance migration of brain-derived precursor cells transplanted to adult rat retina
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文摘
Neural precursor cells transplanted to the adult retina can integrate into the host. This is especially true when the neural precursor rat cell line RN33B is used. This cell line carries the reporter genes LacZ and green fluorescent protein (GFP). In grafted rat eyes, RN33B cells are localized across the entire host retina. In this study, whole-mounted retinas were analyzed to obtain a better understanding of transgene-expressing cells and the migratory capacity of these cells three and eight weeks post-transplantation. Quantification was made of the number of β-galactosidase- and GFP-expressing cells with a semiautomated stereological cell counting system. Delineation of the distribution area of the grafted cells was also performed. At three weeks, 68 % of the grafted eyes contained marker-expressing cells, whereas at eight weeks, only 35 % of the eyes contained such cells. Counting of marker-expressing cells demonstrated a lower number of transgene-expressing cells at three weeks compared with eight weeks post-transplantation. The distribution pattern of marker gene-expressing cells revealed cells occupying up to 21 % at three weeks and up to 68 % at eight weeks of the entire host retina. The precursor cells survived in the adult retina although the most striking feature of the RN33B cell line was its extraordinary migratory capacity. This capability could be useful if precursor cells are used to deliver necessary genes or gene products that need to be distributed over a large diseased area.—Hans E. Grossniklaus