Where Are We with RPE Replacement Therapy? A Translational Review from the Ophthalmologist Perspective
Raffaele Raimondi, Piero Zollet, Francesco Paolo De Rosa, Panagiotis Tsoutsanis, Matteo Stravalaci, Marianna Paulis, Antonio Inforzato, Mario R. Romano
Abstract
The retinal pigmented epithelium (RPE) plays a pivotal role in retinal homeostasis. It is therefore an interesting target to fill the unmet medical need of different retinal diseases, including age-related macular degeneration and Stargardt disease. RPE replacement therapy may use different cellular sources: induced pluripotent stem cells or embryonic stem cells. Cells can be transferred as suspension on a patch with different surgical approaches. Results are promising although based on very limited samples. In this review, we summarize the current progress of RPE replacement and provide a comparative assessment of different published approaches which may become standard of care in the future.