World-first transplant of iPSC-derived epithelial cell sheet
A sheet of iPSC-derived epithelial cells has been transplanted into a patient for the first time by a team from Osaka University (Japan), led by Koji Nishida.
A sheet of iPSC-derived epithelial cells has been transplanted into a patient for the first time by a team from Osaka University (Japan), led by Koji Nishida. The first of four patients received the allogeneic transplant in July 2019 for the treatment of limbal stem cell deficiency (termed ‘corneal epithelial stem cell exhaustion’ in the press release).
Corneal transplantation using donor corneas is a well-established procedure designed to improve sight, relieve pain or treat infection and other corneal damage in a range of disorders. However, availability of suitable corneas and rejection of donor tissue can limit the utility of the technique.
Here, human iPSCs obtained from the iPS Cell Research Institute of Kyoto University (CiRA; Japan) were cultured into a sheet of corneal epithelial cells and transplanted into a patient (see what is an iPSC?). This first study was primarily to confirm safety; two patients who are HLA-incompatible will be treated following immunosuppression and the subsequent two patients in the study will be selected based on the results from these first patients. The secondary endpoint of effectiveness will evaluate the degree of improvement of corneal epithelial stem cell exhaustion and visual acuity.
ارسال به دوستان