A defined subset of clonal retinal stem cell spheres is biased to RPE differentiation

Summary Retinal stem cells (RSCs) are rare pigmented cells found in the pigmented ciliary layer of the mammalian retina. Studies show that RSCs can replicate to maintain the stem cell pool and produce retinal progenitors that differentiate into all retinal cell types. We classified RSCs based on their level and distribution of pigment into heavily pigmented (HP), lightly pigmented (LP), and centrally pigmented (CP) spheres. We report that CP spheres are capable of generating large cobblestone lawns of retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells. The other clonal sphere types (HP and LP) primarily produce cells with neural morphology and fewer RPE cells. The RSCs are homogeneous, but their downstream progenitors are different. We found that CP spheres contain highly proliferative populations of early RPE progenitors that respond to proliferative signals from the surrounding non-pigmented cells. HP and LP spheres contain late RPE progenitors which are not affected by proliferative signals.
Graphical abstract
Highlights • Three types of clonal retinal stem cell spheres form from the same single stem cell • Centrally pigmented spheres contain populations of early RPE progenitors • Heavily and lightly pigmented spheres contain populations of late RPE progenitors • Downstream RPE progenitors are different due to extrinsic and intrinsic factors
Biological sciences; Cell biology; Stem cells research