Improvement of human embryonic stem cell-derived retinal pigment epithelium cell adhesion, maturation, and function through coating with truncated recombinant human vitronectin
Authors:   Department of Ophthalmology, Shanghai General Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200080, China; National Clinical Research Center for Eye Diseases, Shanghai 200080, China; Shanghai Key Laboratory of Fundus Diseases, Shanghai 200080, China; Shanghai Engineering Center for Visual Science and Photomedicine, Shanghai 200080, China, Zhu Xin-Yue , Zhang Ting ,   Department of Ophthalmology, Shanghai General Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200080, China; National Clinical Research Center for Eye Diseases, Shanghai 200080, China; Shanghai Key Laboratory of Fundus Diseases, Shanghai 200080, China; Shanghai Engineering Center for Visual Science and Photomedicine, Shanghai 200080, China, Liu Su-Jun ,   Department of Ophthalmology, Shanghai General Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200080, China; National Clinical Research Center for Eye Diseases, Shanghai 200080, China; Shanghai Key Laboratory of Fundus Diseases, Shanghai 200080, China; Shanghai Engineering Center for Visual Science and Photomedicine, Shanghai 200080, China, Bai Xin-Yue ,   Department of Ophthalmology, Shanghai General Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200080, China; National Clinical Research Center for Eye Diseases, Shanghai 200080, China; Shanghai Key Laboratory of Fundus Diseases, Shanghai 200080, China; Shanghai Engineering Center for Visual Science and Photomedicine, Shanghai 200080, China, Huang Xian-Yu ,   Department of Ophthalmology, Shanghai General Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200080, China; National Clinical Research Center for Eye Diseases, Shanghai 200080, China; Shanghai Key Laboratory of Fundus Diseases, Shanghai 200080, China; Shanghai Engineering Center for Visual Science and Photomedicine, Shanghai 200080, China, Jiang Mei ,   Department of Ophthalmology, Shanghai General Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200080, China; National Clinical Research Center for Eye Diseases, Shanghai 200080, China; Shanghai Key Laboratory of Fundus Diseases, Shanghai 200080, China; Shanghai Engineering Center for Visual Science and Photomedicine, Shanghai 200080, China, Sun Xiao-Dong ,   Department of Ophthalmology, Shanghai General Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200080, China; National Clinical Research Center for Eye Diseases, Shanghai 200080, China; Shanghai Key Laboratory of Fundus Diseases, Shanghai 200080, China; Shanghai Engineering Center for Visual Science and Photomedicine, Shanghai 200080, China
Published: July 2021

AIM: To explore an xeno-free and defined coating substrate suitable for the culture of H9 human embryonic stem cell-derived retinal pigment epithelial (hES-RPE) cells in vitro, and compare the behaviors and functions of hES-RPE cells on two culture substrates, laminin521 (LN-521) and truncated recombinant human vitronectin (VTN-N).
METHODS: hES-RPE cells were used in the experiment. The abilities of LN-521 and VTN-N at different concentrations to adhere to hES-RPE cells were compared with a high-content imaging system. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction was used to evaluate RPE-specific gene expression levels midway (day 10) and at the end (day 20) of the time course. Cell polarity was observed by immunofluorescent staining for apical and basal markers of the RPE. The phagocytic ability of hES-RPE cells was identified by flow cytometry and immunofluorescence.
RESULTS: The cell adhesion assay showed that the ability of LN-521 to adhere to hES-RPE cells was dose-dependent. With increasing coating concentration, an increasing number of cells attached to the surface of LN-521-coated wells. In contrast, VTN-N presented a strong adhesive ability even at a low concentration. The optimal concentration of LN-521 and VTN-N required to coat and adhesion to hES-RPE cells were 2 and 0.25 µg/cm2, respectively. Furthermore, both LN-521 and VTN-N could facilitate adoption of the desired cobblestone cellular morphology with tight junction and showed polarity by the hES-RPE cells. However, hES-RPE cells cultivated in VTN-N had a greater phagocytic ability, and it took less time for these hES-RPE cells to mature.
CONCLUSION: VTN-N is a more suitable coating substrate for cultivating hES-RPE cells.