Dr. VIVEK DAVE

Dr.Taraprasad Das, Dr.Indumathi Mariappan, Ms.Savitri Maddileti

Semi Finals

Abstract

The study was carried out in Royal College of Surgeon (RCS) rats that undergo gradual retinal degeneration over a period of 6-8 months. Human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived RPE cells prepared under standardized GMP controlled conditions were injected into the sub-retinal space of one eye of 4 weeks old RCS rats (N=10). About 0.5-1×105 cells in 3-5 µL were injected using a 28G needle & Hamilton syringe. Prior to injection and post injection, the rats were maintained under immunosuppression by oral cyclosporine administration in the drinking water. At 6-month follow up, fundus examination revealed visible patches of pigmented RPE cells, which were well positioned within the sub-retinal space. They neither showed abnormal proliferation nor formed any visible tumors. Immunostaining using anti-PAX6 and anti-Human mitochondrial antibodies confirmed that the pigmented cells are of human origin. None of the animals showed any signs of local or systemic inflammation or adverse events.