The Chemokine Receptors Ccr5 and Cxcr6 Enhance Migration of Mesenchymal Stem Cells into the Degenerating Retina.

Cell therapy approaches hold great potential for treating retinopathies, which are currently incurable. This study addresses the problem of inadequate migration and integration of transplanted cells into the host retina. To this end, we have identified the chemokines that were most upregulated during retinal degeneration and that could chemoattract mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). The results were observed using a pharmacological model of ganglion/amacrine cell degeneration and a genetic model of retinitis pigmentosa, from both mice and human retinae. Remarkably, MSCs overexpressing Ccr5 and Cxcr6, which are receptors bound by a subset of the identified chemokines, displayed improved migration after transplantation in the degenerating retina. They also led to enhanced rescue of cell death and to preservation of electrophysiological function. Overall, we show that chemokines released from the degenerating retinae can drive migration of transplanted stem cells, and that overexpression of chemokine receptors can improve cell therapy-based regenerative approaches. Copyright © 2020 The American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Citation

Martina Pesaresi, Sergi A Bonilla-Pons, Ruben Sebastian-Perez, Umberto Di Vicino, Marc Alcoverro-Bertran, Ralph Michael, Maria Pia Cosma. The Chemokine Receptors Ccr5 and Cxcr6 Enhance Migration of Mesenchymal Stem Cells into the Degenerating Retina. Molecular therapy : the journal of the American Society of Gene Therapy. 2021 Feb 03;29(2):804-821

Mesh Tags

Substances

PMID: 33264643

search → result