Demonstrating compatibility of cell-based therapeutics

Local tolerability of DTVRF-hiPSC-ARG
August 1st, 2022

A team of IVR researchers have demonstrated the biocompatibility of scaffolds carrying human iPSC-derived retinal progenitor cells. These results were recently published in the journal Cell Transplantation (LINK). There are two major challenges to cell-based therapies. The first is the potential for immunologic rejection of the injected materials. The ideal cells to reduce the chance of rejection, and removing the need for long-term immunosuppression is to use human induced pluripotent stem cells, derived from and transplanted into the same patient. This research addresses the second major challenge for cell-based therapies, that a simple delivery method (i.e. injection of a simple cell suspension) frequently suffers from the loss of a large number of the injected cells. A more efficacious transplantation method is the deliver the cells along with supportive biomaterials. Such materials can help the cells survive, and improve their correct integration with the host retina.