Miho Tagawa, Hanako Ohashi Ikeda*, Masayuki Hata, Yumi Inoue and Akitaka Tsujikawa
Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) is an incurable disease for which effective treatments are lacking. Mer tyrosine kinase (MERTK) is a causative gene of RP. Royal College of Surgeons rats with a Mertk mutation showed impaired phagocytosis of the photoreceptor outer segment by the Retinal pigment Epithelium (RPE). Using RPE differentiated from induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPSC-RPE) of RP patients carrying MERTK mutations, recent studies have shown deterioration of phagocytosis in the iPSC-RPE. This review focused on the function of phagocytosis of iPSC-RPE cells derived from RP patients carrying MERTK mutations and discussed the possibility of developing treatments for this disease using this in vitro disease model.
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