Abstract
Background aims: Glaucoma is a leading cause of irreversible blindness involving loss of retinal ganglion cells (RGC). Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) have shown promise as a paracrine-mediated therapy for compromised neurons. It is, however, unknown whether dental pulp stem cells (DPSC) are effective as a cellular therapy in glaucoma and how their hypothesized influence compares with other more widely researched MSC sources. The present study aimed to compare the efficacy of adipose-derived stem cells, bone marrow-derived MSC (BMSC) and DPSC in preventing the loss of RGC and visual function when transplanted into the vitreous of glaucomatous rodent eyes. Methods: Thirty-five days after raised intraocular pressure (IOP) and intravitreal stem cell transplantation, Brn3a+ RGC numbers, retinal nerve fibre layer thickness (RNFL) and RGC function were evaluated by immunohistochemistry, optical coherence tomography and electroretinography, respectively. Results: Control glaucomatous eyes that were sham-treated with heat-killed DPSC had a significant loss of RGC numbers, RNFL thickness and function compared with intact eyes. BMSC and, to a greater extent, DPSC provided significant protection from RGC loss and RNFL thinning and preserved RGC function. Discussion: The study supports the use of DPSC as a neuroprotective cellular therapy in retinal degenerative disease such as glaucoma.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 487-496 |
Number of pages | 10 |
Journal | Cytotherapy |
Volume | 18 |
Issue number | 4 |
Early online date | 17 Feb 2016 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Apr 2016 |
Bibliographical note
© 2015, Elsevier. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/Keywords
- Dental pulp stem cells
- Glaucoma
- Mesenchymal stromal cells
- Neuroprotection
- Retinal ganglion cells
- Stem cell transplantation