Photoreceptor Differentiation following Transplantation of Allogeneic Retinal Progenitor Cells to the Dystrophic Rhodopsin Pro347Leu Transgenic Pig
Figure 2
Engraftment of RPCs in rhodopsin Pro347Leu recipient. Recipient was 6 weeks of age at time of transplantation. (a) H&E stained section through the graft site 5 weeks after transplantation shows a cellular mass in the subretinal space of presumptive donor origin. Artifactual detachment of the retina reveals the cellular mass to be adherent to the outer surface of the retina, in preference to the adjacent RPE layer. A number of photoreceptor rosettes are present within the cellular mass (arrows), as well as some focal pigment profiles, some of which are also found within the adjacent host neural retina. (b) Fluorescence imaging shows intense GFP-associated immunoreactivity in the subretinal space, corresponding to the cellular mass noted with H&E, above, thereby confirming the identity and location of the graft. A presumptive rosette is visible within the center of the graft, in a location similar to that seen in the H&E section. The majority of GFP+ cells remain in the subretinal mass; however, a number of donor cells are visible within the host retina and these have processes that exhibit a high degree of radial orientation.
