INSERM/UEVE UMR 861, I-STEM, AFM
Relationship defects between the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) and the choroidal vascular cells (choriocapillaris) are a crucial factor in retinopathies development leading to vision loss, such as hereditary retinal dystrophies, and atrophic age-related macular degeneration (AMD). There are no effective treatments currently available for these diseases. In addition, there are still no good animal or human cell models capable of recapitulating all the clinical features of these diseases. Our project aims to develop a 3D model of Blood Retinal Barrier (BRB) by deriving RPE and choroidal cells from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) on a biodegradable membrane with adequate physicochemical and mechanical properties to mimic BRB. This 3D cell model can then be used in disease modelling to find new pharmacological treatments and for cell therapy approaches for retinal diseases. MORE