Cuevas, E;
Holder, DL;
Alshehri, AH;
Treguier, J;
Lakowski, J;
Sowden, JC;
(2021)
NRL^{-/-} gene edited human embryonic stem cells generate rod-deficient retinal organoids enriched in S-cone-like photoreceptors.
Stem Cells
10.1002/stem.3325.
(In press).
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Abstract
Organoid cultures represent a unique tool to investigate the developmental complexity of tissues like the human retina. NRL is a transcription factor required for the specification and homeostasis of mammalian rod photoreceptors. In Nrl‐deficient mice, photoreceptor precursor cells do not differentiate into rods, and instead follow a default photoreceptor specification pathway to generate S‐cone‐like cells. To investigate whether this genetic switch mechanism is conserved in humans, we used CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing to engineer an NRL‐deficient embryonic stem cell (ESC) line (NRL^{−/−}), and differentiated it into retinal organoids. Retinal organoids self‐organize and resemble embryonic optic vesicles (OVs) that recapitulate the natural histogenesis of rods and cone photoreceptors. NRL−/− OVs develop comparably to controls, and exhibit a laminated, organized retinal structure with markers of photoreceptor synaptogenesis. Using immunohistochemistry and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), we observed that NRL^{−/−} OVs do not express NRL, or other rod photoreceptor markers directly or indirectly regulated by NRL. On the contrary, they show an abnormal number of photoreceptors positive for S‐OPSIN, which define a primordial subtype of cone, and overexpress other cone genes indicating a conserved molecular switch in mammals. This study represents the first evidence in a human in vitro ESC‐derived organoid system that NRL is required to define rod identity, and that in its absence S‐cone‐like cells develop as the default photoreceptor cell type. It shows how gene edited retinal organoids provide a useful system to investigate human photoreceptor specification, relevant for efforts to generate cells for transplantation in retinal degenerative diseases.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | NRL^{-/-} gene edited human embryonic stem cells generate rod-deficient retinal organoids enriched in S-cone-like photoreceptors |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1002/stem.3325 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1002/stem.3325 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | © 2021 The Authors. STEM CELLS published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of AlphaMed Press 2021. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
| Keywords: | cone photoreceptor, NRL, optic vesicles, retinal organoids, stem cells |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > UCL GOS Institute of Child Health UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > UCL GOS Institute of Child Health > Developmental Biology and Cancer Dept |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10124036 |
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