Disclosure of Invention
Aiming at the defects of the prior art and the method, the invention provides a safe, economic and efficient method for inducing the differentiation of the human amniotic epithelial cells to the retinal pigment epithelial cells in vitro, and simultaneously, the induced cells are used for treating the retinal neurodegenerative diseases, thereby providing a new treatment scheme for the diseases.
AMD, a typical case of retinal neurodegenerative disease, is a disease whose cause is visual impairment by apoptosis of retinal pigment epithelium on the retina, which affects normal retinal function, and thus the present invention uses this disease as a disease model for treatment. Meanwhile, an RCS (the radial College of surgery) rat is selected as an animal model for treatment, the RCS rat is an animal model with congenital hereditary Retinal degeneration and is widely applied to the research of hereditary Retinal dystrophy diseases, and the genetic defect of the RCS rat causes that a Retinal Pigment epithelial layer (RPE) cannot Phagocytose Outer Segments (POS) secreted by Photoreceptor cells, so that metabolite accumulation is caused, and the function of Retinal-related cells is disordered, thereby causing visual injury. The disease progresses in RCS rats in the form of retinal morphological changes observed at 12 th birth, photoreceptor cells begin to decrease at 18 th day until complete loss of vision in 3 months after birth, so the cell injection treatment is selected at 18 th to 21 th day after birth of RCS rats.
In addition, the invention selects human amniotic epithelial cells as objects for induced differentiation, and the human amniotic epithelial cells are derived from the amnion on the post-partum waste placenta of the newborn. The placenta consists of the amniotic membrane, the chorion (fetal part) and the decidua (maternal part), wherein the decidua is derived from the endometrium of the mother, and the amniotic membrane and the chorion are derived from the fetus, wherein the chorion is the side close to the decidua of the mother, and the amniotic membrane is positioned on the surface of the chorion of the fetus, is connected with the umbilical cord and the skin of the baby, wraps amniotic fluid and the fetus, is also called the fetal membrane, is an early product of embryonic development closely related to the developing fetus, and is an important tissue for the material communication between the mother and the fetus.
Genetically, amniotic epithelial cells are generated from the inner cell mass formed when the fertilized egg begins to develop. Morulae formed early in zygote development, not before implantation into the uterus (3-4 days after fertilization), and consisted of approximately 100 more cells. The outer tens of cells become trophoblasts and eventually form chorions, while the inner tens of cells are the inner cell population and develop into embryos and amnions in the future. Approximately 8 days after fertilization, the human blastocyst is partially implanted into the endometrial stroma. The outer layer of blastula (trophoblast) differentiates into two layers embedded within the stroma, and the inner cell mass also differentiates into two layers: the epiblast and the hypoblast. The epiblast is the source of all three germ layers, eventually forming a developing embryo. Meanwhile, amniotic cavity occurs within the epiblast, and epiblast cells adjacent to the trophoblast are called amniotic cells. The amniotic cavity expands with time, and forms a layer with a thickness of about 0.02-0.05mm and an area of about 700-2The amnion has no blood vessel, nerve, muscle and lymphatic vessel, has certain toughness and elasticity, and is divided into five layers from inside to outside. The amnion comprises five layers of amnion epithelial layer (epithelium), basement membrane (basement membrane), compact layer (compact layer), fibroblast layer (fibroblast layer) and sponge layer (sponge layer), wherein the innermost layer of the amnion faces to amniotic cavity and wraps amniotic fluidThe cells are amniotic epithelial cells.
The amniotic epithelial cells and the embryonic stem cells have the same development tissue source and are differentiated from blastocyst inner cell masses from the development of fertilized eggs to the 8 th day, so that the characteristics of the embryonic stem cells are retained, and the amniotic epithelial cells and the embryonic stem cells have multipotential dryness and stronger differentiation capacity and plasticity. hAECs typically express a variety of embryonic stem cell-associated markers, including stage specific embryonic antigen-3 (SSEA-3), stage specific embryonic antigen-4 (SSEA-4), tumor rejection antigen-60 (TRA 1-60), and tumor rejection antigen-81 (TRA 1-81). Meanwhile, specific transcription factors OCT-4, SOX-2, Nanog, FGF4 and REX-1 of the pluripotent stem cells are also expressed.
In practical application, the human amniotic epithelial cells are derived from the amniotic membrane on the postpartum waste placenta of the newborn, the source is wide, the materials are easy to obtain, the price is low, no application limitation exists, no harm is caused to the baby or the mother, and obviously, the ethical problem caused by the application of the embryonic stem cells does not exist. Meanwhile, the human amniotic epithelial cells have the capacity of regulating in-vivo and in-vitro immune reactions, and researches show that the amniotic epithelial cells have the expression of HLA-Ib (HLA-E, HLA-G); MHC II gene: HLA-DP, DQ, DR are low or not expressed; does not express beta2Microglobulin; co-stimulatory factors CD80, CD86 were not expressed. Since hAECs secrete a variety of immunomodulatory factors, anti-angiogenic proteins, or anti-inflammatory factor-related proteins when cultured in vitro, human amniotic epithelial cells can be considered as immune privileged cells without antigen presentation, and can reduce the source of immune cells after transplantation, avoiding the occurrence of immune rejection. Based on these considerations, human amniotic epithelial cells are the most suitable source and type of seed cells for clinical cell therapy and regenerative medicine among various sources and kinds of pluripotent cells.
Accordingly, in one aspect, the present invention provides a method of inducing differentiation of human amniotic epithelial cells into retinal pigment epithelial cells, the method comprising the steps of:
(1) culturing human amniotic epithelial cells under appropriate conditions for 12-48 hr;
(2) adding an inducing composition to continue culturing for 5-20 days to induce the differentiation of the human amniotic epithelial cells into retinal pigment epithelial cells, wherein the inducing composition is a cell culture medium containing 10-100mM nicotinamide and 1-10 mu M trichostatin A.
In the above method, the type of the cell culture medium used in the present invention is not limited, and any medium may be used as long as it can be used for culturing human amniotic epithelial cells, and commercially available media that are already in the market may be used as they are or may be prepared by themselves. Preferred media include DMEM media and NPBM media.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the human amniotic epithelial cells in step (1) are P0 or P1 human amniotic epithelial cells.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the P0 or P1 human amniotic epithelial cells in step (1) are according to 104-106The amount of cells per well was inoculated in a culture vessel and cultured for 12 to 30 hours, after which the inducing composition was added. More preferably 1X 105-5×105The cell amount per well is seeded in a well plate and cultured for 12-24 hours, after which the inducing composition is added.
In another embodiment of the present invention, in the step (2), the cell culture solution is cultured for 10 to 20 days by adding the inducing composition, and the differentiation of the human amniotic epithelial cells into retinal pigment epithelial cells is induced. Wherein, the cell culture medium in the inducing composition is DMEM medium. The nicotinamide (Nicotinamide) CAS number 98-92-0, the commercial product can be selected from Sigma (cat.no. N3376), trichostatin A (Trichostatin A) CAS number 58880-19-6, and the commercial product can be selected from APExBIO (cat.no. A8183).
In another embodiment of the present invention, the inducing composition in step (2) is a cell culture medium containing 30-70mM nicotinamide and 3-7. mu.M trichostatin A.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the inducing composition in the step (2) is prepared by the following method: adding nicotinamide (Nicotinaid) with the final concentration of 10-100mM and trichostatin A (Trichostatin A) with the final concentration of 1-10 mu M into a DMEM/F121: 1(1X) culture medium containing 15% of KSR (knock-out Serum replacement), 2mM L-glutamine (L-glutamine), 1mM non-essential amino acid (non-essential amino acid), 1mM sodium pyruvate (sodium pyruvate), 100units/ml penillin and 100 mu g/ml streptomycin to obtain the composition for inducing the differentiation of the human amniotic epithelial cells to the retinal pigment epithelial cells.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method for inducing differentiation of human amniotic epithelial cells into retinal pigment epithelial cells, the method comprising the steps of:
(1) get P0Or P1Human amniotic epithelial cells at 1 × 105-5×105The cell amount of the cells/hole is inoculated in a hole plate and cultured for 24-48 hours;
(2) after the induction composition is added, the solution is changed every day, and the mixture is placed in an incubator containing 5.5 percent of carbon dioxide at 37 ℃ for culturing for 10 to 14 days to induce the human amniotic epithelial cells to be differentiated into retinal pigment epithelial cells, wherein the induction composition is a cell culture medium containing 10 to 100mM nicotinamide and 1 to 10 mu M trichostatin A.
In another embodiment of the invention, a method is provided for isolating amniotic epithelial cells from amniotic tissue, the method comprising the steps of:
(1) mechanically separating the placenta tissue to obtain an amniotic membrane;
(2) and digesting the washed amniotic membrane by using digestive enzyme, and centrifuging the digested liquid to obtain the human amniotic epithelial cells.
In one embodiment of the invention, the amniotic epithelial cells are derived from a human. The amniotic membrane may be isolated from isolated human placenta, washed with physiological buffer to remove blood cells, and mechanically removed of residual chorion and blood vessels. Isolation refers to the removal of cells from a tissue sample and separation from additional tissue. Single cells are isolated from intact human amniotic epithelial tissue using any conventional technique or method, including mechanical force (cutting or shearing force), enzymatic digestion with one or a combination of proteases, such as collagenase, trypsin, lipase, liberase and pepsin, or a combination of mechanical and enzymatic methods.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the human amniotic membrane is obtained by mechanically separating placenta tissue from a healthy parturient after cesarean section, in response to the consent of the parturient.
In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the human amniotic epithelial cells obtained in step (2) above may be cultured under the following conditions: at 1 × 106-1×108Inoculating cells into a culture dish according to the density of each cell/flat plate, placing the culture dish in a carbon dioxide incubator for culture, replacing culture solution after human amniotic epithelial cells are attached to the wall, digesting the cells after the flat plates are full of the cells, and performing cryopreservation for subsequent induced differentiation.
The concentration of isolated human amniotic epithelial cells or the aforementioned population of viable cells that direct the induced differentiation of amniotic epithelial cells into retinal pigment epithelial cells may be performed by other methods known to those skilled in the art. These post-processing washing/concentration steps may be performed separately or simultaneously. In addition to the above methods, the viable cell population can be further purified or enriched after cell washing or after culture to reduce both contaminating and dead cells. Separation of cells in suspension can be achieved by the following techniques: buoyant density sedimentation centrifugation, differential adhesion to and elution from solid phases, immunomagnetic beads, fluorescent laser cell sorting (FACS), or other techniques. Examples of these different techniques and apparatus for performing these techniques can be found in the prior art and in commercial products.
In another aspect of the invention, the invention discloses the use of the retinal pigment epithelial cells or cell preparations thereof induced by the human amniotic epithelial cells for treating and/or improving retinal degenerative diseases.
In one aspect, the invention discloses application of a retinal pigment epithelial cell induced and differentiated by a human amniotic epithelial cell or a cell preparation thereof in preparing a medicament for treating and/or improving retinal degenerative diseases. The retinal pigment epithelial cells or cell preparations thereof induced to differentiate by the human amniotic epithelial cells can be used alone or in combination with other medicines for treating and/or improving the retinal degenerative diseases. An effective dose refers to an amount sufficient to ameliorate or prevent a symptom or condition of a medical condition. An effective amount for a particular subject may vary depending on a number of factors, such as the disease to be treated, the overall health of the patient, the method of administration and the dosage and severity of side effects. An effective amount may be the maximum dose or dosage regimen that avoids significant side effects or toxic effects.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the animal having retinal degenerative disease is a mammal. In a more preferred embodiment, the animal is a cow, horse, sheep, monkey, dog, rat, mouse, rabbit or human. In a most preferred embodiment, the animal having a retinal degenerative disease is a human.
In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the retinal degenerative disease includes Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP), Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD), glaucoma, and the like.
In another embodiment of the invention, the cell preparation comprises retinal pigment epithelial cells induced to differentiate by human amniotic epithelial cells and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier. The pharmaceutically acceptable carrier according to the present invention refers to a substance having a suitable benefit/risk ratio, e.g. a pharmaceutically acceptable solvent, suspension or excipient, suitable for use in humans and/or animals, without undue adverse side effects (such as toxicity, irritation and allergic response), which facilitates cell survival and enables delivery of the formulated cells to humans or animals. The carrier is selected according to the appropriately intended mode of administration. The carrier of the present invention includes, but is not limited to, various physiological buffers such as physiological saline, phosphate buffer, artificial cerebrospinal fluid or whole serum, umbilical cord serum, etc.
In another embodiment of the invention, after the induced differentiation of the human amniotic epithelial cells into retinal pigment epithelial cells, the cells after the induced differentiation are collected, and the retinal pigment epithelial cells can be administered to the patient by any suitable method. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, subretinal injections are administered to an animal with a retinal degenerative disease to treat and/or ameliorate a disease progression. The cells can be administeredEither repeatedly or continuously. Generally, multiple administrations are usually given at intervals of at least 7-10 days to achieve better efficacy. The appropriate amount of retinal pigment epithelial cells to induce differentiation will vary depending on the age, sex, weight, health of the patient, and other factors. Typically, the dosage range for each administration is about 103-109Cells, more preferably in a dosage range of about 105-107A cell.
In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the cells after inducing differentiation in vitro are collected by the following steps: and (2) adding trypsin into the culture container, putting the trypsin into an incubator for digestion, adding Fetal Bovine Serum (FBS) into the culture container after the cells are observed to be round under a microscope, gently blowing and beating the cells by using a pipette after the cells are uniformly mixed, transferring the digestive juice into a centrifuge tube for centrifugation, removing the supernatant, re-suspending the cell sediment by using a culture medium, and counting the cells.
In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the cells after inducing differentiation in vitro are collected by the following steps: adding 0.25% trypsin into a culture container, placing the culture container into an incubator at 37 ℃ for digestion for 5-10min, adding Fetal Bovine Serum (FBS) after the cells are observed to be round under a microscope, mixing uniformly, blowing and beating the mixture by using a pipette tip gently, transferring the digestive juice into a centrifuge tube for centrifugation, removing supernatant, resuspending cell precipitation by using a small amount of DMEM/F121: 1(1X) culture medium, and counting the cells.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the retinal pigment epithelial cells that induce differentiation are administered to the patient in combination with one or more agents including ranibizumab, aflibercept, combispagu, Avastin, and Brolucizumab, among others.
The invention relates to a method for inducing human amniotic epithelial cells to differentiate into retinal pigment epithelial cells and application thereof in treating retinal degenerative diseases, wherein the method comprises the steps of adding an inducing composition containing 10-100mM nicotinamide and 1-10 mu M trichostatin A into the human amniotic epithelial cells, and inducing the generated cells to highly express typical genes of the retinal pigment epithelial cells such as MITF, PMEL17, RPE65, Bestrophin and the like; the cells induced and generated by the method are injected into the retina lower cavity of the RCS rat, the ERG and fundus detection show that the electrophysiological signals of the eyes of the rat are obviously enhanced, the structure of the fundus is obviously improved, the eye section HE staining shows that the thickness of the retina of the rat is obviously increased, and the cells induced and differentiated by the scheme have certain recovery on the vision of the rat after being injected. The inducing composition can be used for the differentiation of the human amniotic epithelial cells into the retinal pigment epithelial cells and the treatment of the eye diseases related to the retinal damage, and particularly can be used for the treatment of human retinal degenerative diseases. The method is simple and easy to implement, wide in amniotic epithelial cell source, easy to obtain materials, free of application limitation and ethical problems, and has wide prospects in clinical application of ophthalmic diseases.
Detailed Description
The invention is further illustrated by the following examples, which are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. The experimental methods without specifying specific conditions in the following examples were selected according to the conventional methods and conditions, or according to the commercial instructions.
Example 1 preparation of human amniotic cell test solution
Step 1: preparing an amniotic epithelial cell culture solution: adding 95ml of KSR into 500ml of DMEM/F121: 1 (1X); 6.5ml of 100mM L-Glutamine; 6.5ml of 100mM Sodium Pyruvate; 6.5ml 100mM MEM NEAA; EGF at 2000 × and double antibody at 100 × (Penicilin-Streptomyces) were added before use;
step 2: 2000 × EGF preparation: adding 1ml sterile ddH2O into 100ug EGF packaging tube, standing for 5-10min for dissolving, adding 4ml diluent (PBS containing 5% trehalose), mixing, and packaging into 1.5ml EP tube with each tube containing 100 μ l;
and step 3: preparing a digestion stop solution: DMEM/F121: 1(1X) + 10% FBS;
and 4, step 4: preparing a frozen stock solution: 40% FBS + 50% culture medium + 10% DMSO.
Example 2 isolation of human amniotic epithelial cells
1. Source of human amniotic membrane
After the authorization of the lying-in woman, placenta tissues after the cesarean section of healthy lying-in women (serological reactions such as HIV, syphilis, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, hepatitis C and the like are all shown to be negative) are taken, the placenta is cut by a cross knife, and the whole amnion is obtained by mechanical separation.
2. Isolation of human amniotic epithelial cells
Step 1: the amniotic membrane was washed three times with sterile PBS solution with double antibody (P/S), blood and other impurities were washed off, and the amniotic membrane was transferred to a 50ml centrifuge tube.
Step 2: 10ml of 0.25% pancreatin (bathed at 37 ℃ C. earlier) was added for digestion for 30s, inverted 20 times and the amniotic membrane was transferred to another 50ml centrifuge tube.
And step 3: 15ml of 0.25% pancreatin (bathed at 37 ℃ in advance) was added to the centrifuge tube, and after digestion in a water bath at 37 ℃ for 10min, the amniotic membrane was transferred to another 50ml centrifuge tube.
And 4, step 4: adding 25ml of 0.25% pancreatin into a centrifuge tube, digesting in water bath at 37 ℃ for 40min, shaking 10 times every 10 minutes, forcibly reversing 10 times after finishing, adding an equal volume of digestion stop solution to stop digestion, rotating at the speed of 500g, centrifuging at room temperature for 10min, collecting cells, and re-suspending with 1ml of culture solution.
And 5: transferring amnion into another 50ml centrifuge tube, adding 25ml of 0.25% pancreatin, digesting at 37 ℃ for 40min, mixing uniformly for 10 times every 10min, turning over 10 times after finishing, adding an equal volume of digestion stop solution to stop digestion, rotating at 500g, centrifuging at room temperature for 10min, collecting cells, and resuspending with 1ml of culture solution.
Step 6: mixing the two re-suspended cells, adding 18ml culture solution (adding the double antibody and EGF in the culture solution in advance), uniformly mixing, sieving with a 200-mesh sieve, and sieving with a 400-mesh sieve.
Example 3 inoculation culture and cryopreservation of human amniotic epithelial cells
1. Cell counting culture: 1X 107Individual cells were plated onto 15cm dishes. And changing the culture solution after the cells adhere to the wall, and changing the culture solution once in three days later.
2. Freezing and storing cells: after the cells grew over the plate, the cells were digested and cryopreserved: 5ml of pancreatin is added into 15cm dish, observation is carried out under a mirror after 10min, when the cells become round and the cells are in a suspension state when the plate is shaken in a plane, the digestion is stopped by adding the same amount of digestion stop solution. The cells on the culture dish were blown down by a micropipette in the same direction, transferred into a 15ml centrifuge tube, centrifuged at 800g for 3min, collected and then counted. And adding the freezing solution into the freezing tube, marking the freezing date, the freezing batch and the number of the cells, putting the cells into the freezing tube, immediately putting the freezing tube into a freezing box, putting the freezing box into a refrigerator at minus 80 ℃, taking out the freezing box after 12 hours, and transferring the cells into a liquid nitrogen tank for storage.
Example 4 differentiation of human amniotic epithelial cells into retinal pigment epithelial cells:
step 1: preparation of a composition for inducing differentiation of human amniotic epithelial cells into retinal pigment epithelial cells: to a DMEM/F121: 1(1X) medium containing 15% KSR (knock-out Serum replacement), 2mM L-glutamine (L-glutamine), 1mM non-essential amino acid (non-essential amino acid), 1mM sodium pyruvate (sodium pyruvate), 100units/ml penillin, and 100. mu.g/ml streptomycin was added nicotinamide (Nicotinaid, CAS No. 98-92-0, Sigma, cat. No. N3376), and 1-10. mu.M Trichostatin A (Trichoderma A, CAS No. 58880-19-6, APBIO, cat. No. A8183) at a final concentration to obtain a composition for inducing differentiation of human amniotic epithelial cells into retinal pigment epithelial cells.
Step 2: the method for inducing the differentiation of the human amniotic epithelial cells to the retinal pigment epithelial cells comprises the following steps: get P0Or P1Human amniotic epithelial cells at a ratio of 1-2X 105The cell amount of the cells/well is inoculated in a six-well plate, the inducing composition is added after 24-48 hours, the solution is changed every day, and the culture is placed in an incubator containing 5.5% carbon dioxide at 37 ℃ for 10-20 days.
Example 5 Electron microscopy of differentiated intracellular melanin precursor substances, cell junction structures and surface microvilli
Transmission electron microscopy:
1. collection of cell samples
The cells grown in the culture dish after in vitro induced differentiation were scraped off, washed with 1X PBS solution and centrifuged to collect the cells.
2. Pretreatment sample for electron microscope
Step 1: fixing: 2.5% glutaraldehyde PBS buffer for 4 hours or more for more than 20 sample volumes;
step 2: rinsing with 0.1M PBS (0.5-1.0 ml) for 10-15min (depending on sample size) for 2 times;
and step 3: fixing 1% osmate fixed solution for 1 hr, and recovering after use;
and 4, step 4: ddH2O rinsed 10-15min (depending on sample size) 2 times;
and 5: fixing/dyeing with 2% uranium acetate for 30min, with the dosage of about 100 ul;
step 6: gradient dehydration (time depends on sample size, dosage is 0.5-1.0ml, sample amount): 50% ethanol for 10-15 min; 70% ethanol for 10-15 min; 90% ethanol for 10-15 min; 100% ethanol for 10-20 min; 100% acetone for 10-20min2 times;
and 7: and (3) infiltration: pure acetone + embedding agent (1:1), room temperature 2 hours; pure embedding agent, room temperature 2 hours;
and 8: embedding;
and step 9: polymerization: oven at 37 deg.C for 24 hr; oven at 45 deg.C for 24 hr; drying in a drying oven at 60 ℃ for 48 hours;
step 10: slicing by an ultrathin slicer, dyeing by uranium acetate-lead citrate, and observing by a transmission electron microscope.
Scanning electron microscope
(1) Fixing: the sample was placed in 2.5% glutaraldehyde at 4 ℃ overnight
(2) Discard glutaraldehyde, wash the sample with PBS three times for 20min each
(3) Fixation with 1% osmic acid at 4 ℃ for 1h
(4) Osmic acid was discarded and the samples were washed three times with PBS for 20min each
(5) And (3) dehydrating: sequentially adding 30%, 50%, 70%, 80%, 90% and 95% acetone for 10-15min, and adding 100% acetone for 10-15min for 2-3 times
(6) And (3) replacement: replacement with pure isoamyl acetate for more than 15min
(7) And (3) drying: critical point drying of CO2
(8) Loading the sample on a sample table, coating silver colloid, spraying gold in vacuum, and observing with a scanning electron microscope
As shown in FIG. 1, the shape of hAECs-RPE in bright field is regular polygon, and cells are tightly connected; the long microvilli of hAECs-RPE can be seen under a scanning electron microscope; the tight junctions among hAECs-RPE cells, microvilli and melanin granules can be more clearly seen under a transmission electron microscope.
Example 6 cellular immunofluorescence
(1) Cell fixation: taking out cells from the cell culture box, observing the cells, then discarding the culture solution, washing the cells for 2-3 times by 1 XPBS (phosphate buffer solution), adding 800 mu L of 4% paraformaldehyde into each hole, and fixing for 15min at room temperature;
(2) cell washing: discarding paraformaldehyde solution, washing with 1 × PBS for 3 times, each for 5 min;
(3) cell permeabilization: permeabilization of 1 XPBS with 0.25% Triton X-100 for 1-10min at room temperature (based on the cellular localization of the protein of interest);
(4) cell washing: discarding the permeabilization solution, washing with 1 × PBS for 3 times, each time for 5 min;
(5) and (3) sealing: adding 500-800 μ L blocking solution (850 μ L PBS +100 μ L10% BSA +50 μ L LHBS) to each well, blocking for 1h at room temperature (or overnight at 4 ℃);
(6) primary antibody incubation: the antibody was diluted 1 × PBS at a ratio of 1:50 to 1:200 and incubated at room temperature for 2h (or overnight at 4 ℃);
(7) cell washing: recovering or discarding primary anti-dilution solution, washing with 1 × PBS for 3 times, each for 5 min;
(8) and (3) secondary antibody incubation: diluting the fluorescent secondary antibody with 1 XPBS at the ratio of 1:200-1:500, and incubating for 1h at room temperature in a dark place;
(9) cell washing: discarding the fluorescent secondary antibody diluent, washing with 1 × PBS for 3 times, each for 5 min;
(10) DAPI staining: DAPI was diluted with 1 XPBS at a ratio of 1:1000 and cells were stained for 1min at room temperature;
(11) cell washing: discarding DAPI diluent, washing with 1 × PBS for 3 times, each for 5 min;
(12) sealing: taking out the cover glass from the 12-hole plate, sucking off PBS at the edge by using dust-free paper, and lightly buckling the cell growth side onto the mounting solution (the mounting solution is dripped on the glass slide in advance);
(13) and (4) observing and photographing: the pictures are observed and photographed under a fluorescence microscope or a two-photon laser confocal microscope.
As shown in FIG. 1, hAECs-RPE was detected by IF to express MITF (microphthalmia-associated transcription factor), ZO-1 (intercellular tight junction protein), PMEL17 (melanin precursor protein), F-ACTIN (cytoskeletal protein), and Bestrophin and RPE65, which are major markers of mature RPE.
Example 7 sequencing of cellular transcriptome (RNA-seq)
And (3) cracking the differentiated cell sample by using Trizol, blowing, beating, uniformly mixing, transferring to a 1.5mL centrifuge tube, preserving at-80 ℃, collecting RPE (RPE) and PRs (platelet-like peptide) sample cells for 3 batches, and testing by Hangzhou Tianke biotechnology limited company. The method mainly comprises the following steps:
(1) after extracting total RNA of a sample and digesting the DNA by DNaseI, enriching mRNA of a eukaryote by magnetic beads with oligo (dT) (if the eukaryote is a prokaryote, removing rRNA by using a kit and then entering the next step); (2) adding an interrupting reagent into a Thermomixer, interrupting mRNA into short fragments at a proper temperature, synthesizing first-strand cDNA by using the interrupted mRNA as a template, preparing a double-strand synthesis reaction system to synthesize second-strand cDNA, purifying and recovering by using a kit, repairing a sticky end, adding a base A at the 3' end of the cDNA and connecting a joint, selecting the size of the fragments, and finally performing PCR amplification;
(3) the constructed library was qualified by quality inspection using Agilent2100Bioanalyzer and ABI StepOneNus Real-Time PCR System and sequenced using Illumina HiSeqTM 4000 or other sequencer.
According to the literature report, 148 genes are selected as the main identified genes of the RPE, and the results are shown in figure 2, the cluster analysis of the hAECs-RPE and hAECs-RPE gene expression data shows that the gene expression color blocks are approximately the same, and the differentiation degree of the RPE cells differentiated by the hAECs-RPE and the hAECs-RPE is fully proved again.
Example 8 detection of retinal pigment epithelial cell function in vitro phagocytosis of photoreceptor outer segments
1. Reagent A preparation (1000mL)
20mmol/L Tris-HCl buffer: 20mmol Tris (2.4228g), 200g sucrose, 65mmol NaCl (3.8g), 1mmol MgCl2(MgCl2·6H2O0.2033 g), 10mmol glucose (C)6H12O6·H2O1.9817 g), 5mmol of aminoethanesulfonic acid (0.62575g), hydrochloric acid to adjust the pH to 7.4, and storage at 4 ℃.
2. Preparation of Outer Segments (OS)
Step 1: taking 6-8 rat eyeballs, and cutting out the cornea, crystal and vitreous body circularly. Fresh tissue (3mL) of the retina was removed in 20 mmol. multidot.L-1 Tris-HCl buffer and the retina was cut into 2 mm. times.2 mm tissue fragments. (Note: the cuvette was washed in buffer A to wash out the detached outer segment.)
Step 2: retinal tissue was transferred into a 5mL tube and gently shaken for 1min (QL-861Vortex Shaker) at 4 ℃ 1000rpm min-1Centrifuge for 5 min.
And step 3: transferring the centrifuged supernatant into a 5mL tube, gently washing the precipitate with 500uL of reagent A, mixing the supernatant with the centrifuged supernatant, and heating to 4 deg.C at 3000rpm min-1Centrifuge for 2 min.
And 4, step 4: repeat step 3 once.
Step 5, transferring the centrifuged supernatant into a 1.5mL EP tube at 4 ℃ and 15000rpm min-1Centrifuge for 30 min. Removing the supernatant, and obtaining the lower layer precipitate as POS.
3. In vitro phagocytosis assay
The POS pellets in all EP tubes were resuspended in 100uL DMEM/F-12 medium, and all EP tubes were washed once with 100uL DMEM/F-12 medium and pooled. The 200uL POS can be diluted to 800uL, evenly added into a culture plate in which retinal pigment epithelial cells generated by in vitro induction grow, and placed in an incubator containing 5.5% carbon dioxide at 37 ℃ for incubation for 6-8 hours.
4. Immunofluorescence of cell slide
As shown in example 6.
As a result, as shown in FIG. 3, Na, K-ATPNase (a marker of cell polarity) was mainly expressed in the upper layer of the cell (3.10A); POS from rat PRs is indicated by Rhodopsin and cells are able to phagocytose a green POS fragment (3.10B).
Example 9 VEGF/PEDF ELISA detection
Primary hAECs were cultured in 12-well cell culture plates in transwell chambers with 4 μm pore size, and after the cells were grown to 70% and cultured for 12 days with liquid change and differentiation every day, culture liquid was collected in and out of the chambers 48 hours later (day 14 of differentiation), and changes in the expression level of VEGF/PEDF in the culture liquid above and below the cells were measured by ELISA.
The specific experimental steps are as follows:
(1) sample adding: all reagents, standards and activated samples were prepared, 100. mu.L of standard, control or test sample was added to each well, the reaction plates were mixed well and incubated at 37 ℃ for 120 min.
(2) Washing the plate: the reaction plate was washed thoroughly 4-6 times with 1 × washing solution and blotted dry on quick filter paper.
(3) Add 100. mu.L of detection antibody to each well, mix the reaction plates well and incubate at 37 ℃ for 60 min.
(4) Washing the plate: the reaction plate was washed thoroughly 4-6 times with 1 × washing solution and blotted dry on quick filter paper.
(5) mu.L peroxidase was added to each well and the plate was incubated at 37 ℃ for 30 min.
(6) Washing the plate: the reaction plate was washed thoroughly 4-6 times with 1 × washing solution and blotted dry on quick filter paper.
(7) Add 100. mu.L chromogenic substrate to each well, react in the dark at 37 ℃ for 10-30 min.
(8) Add 100. mu.L of stop solution to each well and mix well.
(9) The absorbance (OD value) was measured at a wavelength of 450nm with a microplate reader within 30 min.
(10) And (3) calculating: drawing a standard curve (the concentration of the standard substance is an abscissa, and the OD value is an ordinate), calculating a linear regression equation of the standard curve by using the OD value and the concentration of the standard substance, calculating the concentration of the sample during detection according to the OD value of the sample, and multiplying the concentration by the dilution factor to obtain the actual concentration of the sample.
As a result, as shown in FIG. 3, the results of ELISA detection of the upper and lower cell cultures after 48 hours of culture showed that VEGF was mainly secreted in the lower culture (3.10C) and PEDF was mainly secreted in the upper culture (3.10D).
Example 10 flow cytometry identification of cell surface markers
1. Preparing a buffer solution:
washing buffer (PBS solution containing 2% FBS): 1ml FBS is made to 50ml with 1 XPBS solution
Fixative (4% PFA solution): heating 180ml double distilled water, 20 μ l 5M sodium hydroxide and 8g PFA (paraformaldehyde) to 65 ℃, stirring to completely dissolve, cooling to room temperature, adding 10ml 20 XPBS, fixing the volume to 200ml with double distilled water, and subpackaging at-20 ℃ for freezing.
2. Flow cytometry identification:
step 1: respectively taking primary human amniotic epithelial cells which are not subjected to in vitro induction differentiation and cells which are subjected to in vitro induction to be differentiated into retinal pigment epithelial cells, adding 0.25% trypsin for digestion, centrifuging for 5min at 4 ℃ and 1000rpm, discarding supernatant, adding 1ml of PBS (phosphate buffer solution) for resuspension of the cells, evenly dividing into four parts, placing into a 1.5ml centrifuge tube, centrifuging for 3min at 4 ℃ and 1000rpm, and discarding supernatant.
Step 2: add 800u l washing buffer heavy suspension cells, 4 degrees C1000 rpm centrifugal 3min, abandon the supernatant. Repeat step 2 twice.
And step 3: 50 mul of washing buffer solution is added into the cells, 5 mul of HLA-DQ isotype, HLA-DQ, HLA-DR isotype and HLA-DR antibody are added into each tube, and the mixture is evenly mixed and placed for 30min at 4 ℃ in a dark place.
And 4, step 4: after centrifugation at 1000rpm for 3min at 4 ℃ the supernatant was discarded and 800. mu.l of wash buffer was added to resuspend the cells. This was repeated twice.
And 5: add 500. mu.l of 4% PFA fixative to each tube and fix overnight at 4 ℃ in the dark.
Step 6: after taking out, the cells were centrifuged at 1000rpm for 3min at 4 ℃ and the supernatant was discarded, and 800. mu.l of a washing buffer was added to resuspend the cells. This was repeated twice.
And 7: add 500. mu.l of wash buffer to resuspend the cells and transfer to flow tube for detection by an up-conveyor.
As shown in FIG. 4, flow assay results of hAECs-RPE and hAECs of the same batch show that the HLA-DR/HLA-DQ results are negative, which indicates that the cells are still low in immunogenicity before and after differentiation, and the cells are beneficial to in vivo transplantation.
EXAMPLE 11 rat Ocular electrophysiological assay (ERG)
1. Dark adaptation
Prior to the experiment, the experimental RCS rats were placed in a completely dark environment and acclimatized in the dark for more than 12 hours, with attention paid to ventilation.
2. ERG detection
Step 1: ketamine is used for anesthesia, the dosage is 0.02-0.03/70g, and mydriasis drug is dripped into eyes to carry out mydriasis.
Step 2: and connecting the electrodes. 2 recording electrodes and reference electrodes respectively, and 1 ground electrode.
And step 3: dark response stimulation was performed in sequence with stimulation intensity: -40db, -25db, -10db, 0db, +5 db.
And 4, step 4: adaptation is carried out for 10 min.
And 5: carrying out bright response stimulation in sequence, wherein the stimulation intensity is as follows: -10db, -5db, 0db, +5db, +10 db.
We performed ERG assays around 4 weeks after cell transplantation and we used a self-control mode at the time of injection (cells injected in the right eye, blank left eye or DMEM/F12 injected). One day before the ERG detection, each group of rats is placed in a darkroom to dark adapt for more than 8 hours, then the abdominal cavity is anesthetized, the ERG detection is carried out after mydriasis, and the animals are kept warm during the detection. The results are shown in fig. 5, where the electrophysiological response of ERG b-waves at different intensities for the treated eye is significantly improved compared to the control eye.
Example 12 RCS rat eyeball Paraffin section and HE staining
1. Separating rat eyeballs:
the eyeballs of the rats killed by the cervical dislocation method are taken out and soaked in 1X PBS solution to remove other impurities such as fat around the eyeballs.
2. Solution preparation:
the preparation of the 4% PFA solution was carried out in the same manner as in example 4.
Hydrochloric acid ethanol solution: 7ml HCl (37%) +252ml 70% ethanol.
Diluted ammonia water: 200ml distilled water is added with 100 mul ammonia water to obtain 0.05% diluted ammonia water.
3. Eyeball paraffin embedding, section and HE staining
Step 1: dewatering and wax penetration:
placing the eyeball into an embedding box, and sequentially passing through a dehydration cylinder filled with the following solutions:
and (3) dehydrating: sequentially passing the embedding box filled with eyeball through 70% ethanol, 80% ethanol and 90% ethanol for 15min respectively, placing in two 95% ethanol dehydration cylinders for 30min, and placing in two 100% ethanol dehydration cylinders for 30 min;
and (3) transparency: sequentially placing in dehydration jar containing 50% xylene and 50% alcohol for 60min, and placing in two xylene dehydration jars for 60 min;
wax penetration: passing through two dehydration cylinders containing pure wax for 60 min.
Step 2: embedding:
taking out the embedding box by using tweezers, putting the embedding box and a paraffin mold into a wax cylinder, clamping the paraffin mold by using the tweezers, putting the paraffin mold at a wax dripping position, putting the paraffin mold at a 4 ℃ position after dripping a drop of wax, putting the tissue on the wax (the section faces downwards), putting a mould at the wax dripping position, covering the embedding box, adding the paraffin, putting the embedding box at the 4 ℃ position for solidification, and then supplementing the paraffin.
And step 3: slicing:
the wax block is trimmed according to the tissue part, and redundant wax blocks are cut off. The slicer is adjusted to make the blade and the wax block have proper distance and angle. The thickness of the slice was adjusted to 50 μm, the thickness of the slice was adjusted to 4 μm after the sample was cut, whether the desired tissue was cut or not was examined under the microscope, and then the slice was cut at a thickness of 4 μm. After carefully cutting the wax tape to a certain length, the wax tape was cut at a distance of 5 samples by a blade.
And 4, step 4: unfolding, sticking and baking:
the water temperature was maintained at 42 ℃ by opening the slide-out apparatus, the wax tape was held with a pair of tweezers and placed on the water surface, and the slide was spread in the water. And taking a clean glass slide, carefully fishing out the unfolded slice, and marking the date and the sample number on the ground surface at the other end. And adjusting the temperature of the sheet baking machine to 37 ℃, and putting the slices on the sheet baking machine for baking so that the slices are attached to the glass sheet. Baking for 4h, and collecting the slices, wherein the slices can be stored for a long time.
And 5: HE staining:
the cut eyeball slices sequentially pass through the following containers:
dewaxing: xylene 10min × 3;
hydration: 100% ethanol 5min × 2, 95% ethanol 2 min; washing with slow tap water flow for 5 min;
staining cell nuclei: hematoxylin (45 seconds to minutes, depending on the staining, the nucleus stains blue); washing with slow tap water flow for 5 min;
differentiation: hydrochloric acid ethanol solution for 2 seconds; washing with slow tap water flow for 5 min;
returning blue: putting into dilute ammonia water for 8 times; washing with slow tap water flow for 6 min; 95% ethanol for 4 min;
staining cytoplasm: eosin (45 sec, cytoplasmic staining red);
and (3) dehydrating: 95% ethanol 2min × 2, 100% ethanol 4min × 2;
and (3) transparency: xylene 5min × 3, after staining was completed the sections were placed in a fume hood for air drying of residual xylene and mounted with neutral resin.
The different groups of rats were harvested about 4 weeks after cell transplantation, sectioned after paraffin embedding of the eyeballs (thickness 3 μm), and the results after HE staining are shown in fig. 6, in which the structure of each retinal layer of the wild type RCS rat was intact, the Outer Nuclear Layer (ONL) of the non-wild type RCS rat was significantly thinned, and the overall thickness of the retina and the thickness of the outer nuclear layer at the cell injection site were significantly improved. Thus, the hAECs-RPE injection can obviously improve the structural damage of the retina.
Example 13 RCS rat eyeball cryosection and immunohistochemical experiments
1. Sampling and embedding of eyeball
The eyeballs of the rats killed by the cervical dislocation method are taken out, quickly placed in 1X PBS to wash off blood stains, and after impurities such as fat and the like around the eyeballs are removed, the rats are placed in an embedding box filled with an ice-cream embedding medium (OCT). The cassette was placed in dry ice pre-chilled isopentane until OCT and tissue were completely frozen.
2. Frozen section of eyeball sample
The embedded eyeball was fixed in a cryomicrotome, cut into 0.5 μm sections, and the sections were mounted on an adhesive slide.
3. Immunohistochemical testing of frozen sections of the eyeball
Step 1: the sections were allowed to stand at room temperature for 30min before staining to allow the sections to adhere well to the slide.
Step 2: the samples were placed in acetone at-20 ℃ and fixed for 10min (directly for subsequent operations if the tissue was fixed before embedding).
And step 3: the sections were removed and washed 3 times with PBS for 5min each.
And 4, step 4: the tissue is firstly enclosed by an oily pen, then primary antibody (the primary antibody is diluted by PBS of 5 percent HBS +1 percent BSA) is dripped on the tissue, and the tissue is placed in a wet box for overnight at 4 ℃;
and 5: taking out the slices, washing with PBS for 3 times, 5min each time;
step 6: remove the water on the section, add the fluorescent coupled secondary antibody (diluted with 5% HBS + 1% BSA in PBS) and incubate in a humid chamber for 1h in the dark at room temperature. (the subsequent operations from this step are all performed in the dark)
And 7: the sections were removed and washed 3 times with PBS for 5min each.
And 8: diluting DAPI with PBS, adding dropwise onto the slice, incubating at room temperature for 3min, and washing with PBS for 5min for 2 times;
and step 9: sealing liquid and sealing, and performing fluorescence microscope microscopic examination.
The cells were sampled about 4 weeks after transplantation, frozen sectioned and immunofluorescence photographed using a two-photon confocal microscope to detect cell survival and detect the major markers of RPE. As a result, as shown in fig. 7, the cells survived well 4 weeks after transplantation and expressed RPE major markers such as RPE65/CRALBP, indicating that RPE cells transplanted into the subretinal space survived for a long time and inserted into and integrated with the original retina to exert RPE function.
The invention provides a novel method for inducing differentiation of human amniotic epithelial cells to retinal pigment epithelial cells in vitro, wherein cells generated by induction highly express part of classical retinal pigment epithelial cell markers; in addition, the expression of HLA-DR and HLA-DQ antigens of the cells is still maintained at a low level after stimulation by the stimulating factors, which shows that the cells still have low immunogenicity after differentiation and are suitable for cell therapy as transplants. The ERG electrophysiological detection result of the RCS rat injected through the subretinal space shows that the electric signal intensity of the eyes of the RCS rat is obviously enhanced compared with that of a non-treatment group under the light stimulation, the fundus picture shows that the pigment layer of the RCS rat is recovered to a greater extent, the eyeball sampling section shows that the injected cells can be positioned at a specific position of the subretinal space and survive for a longer time, and the HE staining shows that the retina structure of the RCS rat injected is obviously recovered. Therefore, the inventors considered that the in vitro differentiation method can differentiate human amniotic epithelial cells into retinal pigment epithelial cells with high efficiency, and can recover the vision of RCS rats to some extent after injection. The inducing composition can be used for the differentiation of the human amniotic epithelial cells into the retinal pigment epithelial cells and the treatment of the eye diseases related to the retinal damage, and particularly can be used for the treatment of human retinal degenerative diseases.
In this specification the invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments, which are presented only to assist in understanding the method of the invention and its core ideas. The present invention has been described for illustrative purposes and is not to be construed as limited thereby, as modifications and variations can be readily made by those skilled in the art without departing from the principles of the present invention, and within the scope of the appended claims.