Human retinal pigment epithelium cell culture on patterned surfaces

摘要

Retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) is essential in the maintenance of normal functions of the retina, especially the photoreceptors (Lu et al., 1998). Alterations in RPE structure and function are implicated in a variety of ocular disorders including age-related macular degeneration, Stargardt's disease, and some forms of retinitis pigmentosa. Virtually all of the existing methods involve the injection of a RPE cell suspension into the subretinal space. However, the random placement of these cells does not always result in the epithelium regeneration, since RPE cells are polar with distinct apical and basolateral characteristics. The formation of an organized sheet of RPE cells with appropriate orientation remains a major challenge in developing an efficient cellular therapy. We hypothesize that culturing RPE cells onto substrates with desired surface micropatterns will proper orjentation and differentiated phenotype of the cells. The objectives of this study were to fabricate model sbstrates with desired surface microptterns using a microcontact printing technique and to investigate the effects of surface micropatterning on RPE cell morphology, attachment, and proliferation in vitro.