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Koh AEH, Alsaeedi HA, Rashid MBA, Lam C, Harun MHN, Ng MH, Mohd Isa H, Then KY, Bastion MLC, Farhana A, Khursheed Alam M, Subbiah SK, Mok PL. Transplanted Erythropoietin-Expressing Mesenchymal Stem Cells Promote Pro-survival Gene Expression and Protect Photoreceptors From Sodium Iodate-Induced Cytotoxicity in a Retinal Degeneration Model. Front Cell Dev Biol 2021; 9:652017. [PMID: 33987180 PMCID: PMC8111290 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2021.652017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2021] [Accepted: 03/29/2021] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) are highly regarded as a potential treatment for retinal degenerative disorders like retinitis pigmentosa and age-related macular degeneration. However, donor cell heterogeneity and inconsistent protocols for transplantation have led to varied outcomes in clinical trials. We previously showed that genetically-modifying MSCs to express erythropoietin (MSCEPO) improved its regenerative capabilities in vitro. Hence, in this study, we sought to prove its potential in vivo by transplanting MSCsEPO in a rat retinal degeneration model and analyzing its retinal transcriptome using RNA-Seq. Firstly, MSCsEPO were cultured and expanded before being intravitreally transplanted into the sodium iodate-induced model. After the procedure, electroretinography (ERG) was performed bi-weekly for 30 days. Histological analyses were performed after the ERG assessment. The retina was then harvested for RNA extraction. After mRNA-enrichment and library preparation, paired-end RNA-Seq was performed. Salmon and DESeq2 were used to process the output files. The generated dataset was then analyzed using over-representation (ORA), functional enrichment (GSEA), and pathway topology analysis tools (SPIA) to identify enrichment of key pathways in the experimental groups. The results showed that the MSCEPO-treated group had detectable ERG waves (P <0.05), which were indicative of successful phototransduction. The stem cells were also successfully detected by immunohistochemistry 30 days after intravitreal transplantation. An initial over-representation analysis revealed a snapshot of immune-related pathways in all the groups but was mainly overexpressed in the MSC group. A subsequent GSEA and SPIA analysis later revealed enrichment in a large number of biological processes including phototransduction, regeneration, and cell death (Padj <0.05). Based on these pathways, a set of pro-survival gene expressions were extracted and tabulated. This study provided an in-depth transcriptomic analysis on the MSCEPO-treated retinal degeneration model as well as a profile of pro-survival genes that can be used as candidates for further genetic enhancement studies on stem cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Avin Ee-Hwan Koh
- Department of Biomedical Science, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Malaysia
| | - Hiba Amer Alsaeedi
- Department of Biomedical Science, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Malaysia
| | - Munirah Binti Abd Rashid
- Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Chenshen Lam
- Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Mohd Hairul Nizam Harun
- Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Min Hwei Ng
- Tissue Engineering Centre, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Center, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Hazlita Mohd Isa
- Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Kong Yong Then
- Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Mae-Lynn Catherine Bastion
- Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Aisha Farhana
- Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Jouf University, Sakaka, Saudi Arabia
| | | | - Suresh Kumar Subbiah
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Malaysia.,Genetics and Regenerative Medicine Research Group, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Malaysia.,Department of Biotechnology, Bharath Institute of Higher Education and Research, Chennai, India
| | - Pooi Ling Mok
- Department of Biomedical Science, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Malaysia.,Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Jouf University, Sakaka, Saudi Arabia.,Genetics and Regenerative Medicine Research Group, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Malaysia.,Department of Biotechnology, Bharath Institute of Higher Education and Research, Chennai, India
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