PURPOSE The authors investigated intercellular communication among cultured rat retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells isolated from dystrophic Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) rats by studying the conduction of the [Ca2+]i wave elicited by mechanical stimulation. The effect of protein phosphorylation was measured by modulating the protein kinase C (PKC), protein kinase A (PKA), and tyrosine kin...

Differentiated retinal pigmented epithelial (RPE) cells have been obtained from human induced pluripotent stem (hiPS) cells. However, the visual (retinoid) cycle in hiPS-RPE cells has not been adequately examined. Here we determined the expression of functional visual cycle enzymes in hiPS-RPE cells compared with that of isolated wild-type mouse primary RPE (mpRPE) cells in vitro and in vivo. h...

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a severe retinal eye disease where dysfunctional mitochondria and damaged mitochondrial DNA in pigment epithelium (RPE) have been demonstrated to underlie the pathogenesis of this devastating disease. In present study, we aimed examine whether induce inflammasome activation human RPE cells. Therefore, ARPE-19 cells were primed with IL-1α exposed electro...

PURPOSE To examine the effects of transplanting retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells transduced with neurotrophic factor genes into the subretinal space of rats. METHODS RPE cells were transduced with plasmids carrying the cDNAs of Axokine (ciliary neurotrophic factor [CNTF]; Sumitomo Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan), brain derived-neurotrophic factor (BDNF), and basic fibroblast gr...

AIMS The authors studied how artificially damaged Bruch's membrane influenced growth and differentiation of transplanted embryonic retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells and of host RPE cells in rabbits. METHODS Embryonic RPE cells obtained from pigmented rabbits were transplanted into the subretinal space of adult albino rabbits. The host RPE was removed with a silicone cannula, and Bruch's ...

PURPOSE Varicella zoster virus (VZV)-induced retinitis is characterized by the presence of virus-infected cells in the retinal layer and the ocular infiltration of VZV-specific T cells. Herein, the susceptibility of human retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells to VZV infection and the ability of virus-specific CD4(+) T cells to control VZV infection in RPE cells in vitro is addressed. METHODS...

Retinal Pigment Epithelial (RPE) cells play important roles in progression of human ophthalmic diseases. Evidences have showed that Resveratrol (RV) presents benefits for the treatment of ophthalmic diseases. In this study, we investigated the potential molecular mechanism mediated by RV in RPE cells. Transforming Growth Factor beta1 (TGFβ1) and Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition (EMT) signal pa...

purpose: true neoplasm (adenocarcinoma) of retinal pigment epithelium (rpe) is very rare since it can be misdiagnosed as intraocular malignant melanoma it is of importance to know the clinical and pathologic aspects of this neoplasm. here, we report a case of adenocarcinoma of rpe. methods: case report. results: a 60-year-old man with progressive loss of the vision of the right eye was enucleat...

PURPOSE Retinal pigmented epithelial (RPE) cells may contribute to retinal immune privilege. Daily phagocytosis and degradation of photoreceptor cell outer segment tips by RPE provide substantial amounts of retinal autoantigens for potential MHC occupancy. RPE are well placed to modulate antigen (Ag)-specific activation of T cells in the outer retina under conditions in which inflammatory media...

PURPOSE The production of functional retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells from human embryonic (hESCs) and human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) in defined and xeno-free conditions is highly desirable, especially for their use in cell therapy for retinal diseases. In addition, differentiated RPE cells provide an individualized disease model and drug discovery tool. In this study, we r...