4.6 Article

Control of Microbial Opsin Expression in Stem Cell Derived Cones for Improved Outcomes in Cell Therapy

Journal

FRONTIERS IN CELLULAR NEUROSCIENCE
Volume 15, Issue -, Pages -

Publisher

FRONTIERS MEDIA SA
DOI: 10.3389/fncel.2021.648210

Keywords

human induced pluripotent stem cell; human retinal organoid; cones; optogenetics; vision restoration; cell therapy; promoter

Categories

Funding

  1. Fondation Voir et Entendre
  2. ERC [309776, 639888]
  3. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
  4. Institut National de la Sante et de la Recherche Medicale (INSERM)
  5. Sorbonne Universite
  6. Agence Nationale pour la Recherche-Recherche Hospitalo-Universitaire en sante (RHU
  7. Light4Deaf)
  8. AFM-Telethon
  9. LCL Foundation
  10. European Research Council (ERC) [309776, 639888] Funding Source: European Research Council (ERC)

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Human-induced pluripotent stem cell-derived organoids are crucial for modeling human organ development and diseases, with cell-type-specific promoters playing a significant role in controlling gene expression and improving cell sorting efficiency. Use of a 1.7kb L-opsin promoter has shown enhanced gene expression and therapeutic outcomes in cell therapy settings. Promoter activity is essential for regulating transgene expression during the maturation of hiPSC retinal derivatives.
Human-induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC) derived organoids have become increasingly used systems allowing 3D-modeling of human organ development, and disease. They are also a reliable source of cells for transplantation in cell therapy and an excellent model to validate gene therapies. To make full use of these systems, a toolkit of genetic modification techniques is necessary to control their activity in line with the downstream application. We have previously described adeno-associated viruse (AAV) vectors for efficient targeting of cells within human retinal organoids. Here, we describe biological restriction and enhanced gene expression in cone cells of such organoids thanks to the use of a 1.7-kb L-opsin promoter. We illustrate the usefulness of implementing such a promoter to enhance the expression of the red-shifted opsin Jaws in fusion with a fluorescent reporter gene, enabling cell sorting to enrich the desired cell population. Increased Jaws expression after transplantation improved light responses promising better therapeutic outcomes in a cell therapy setting. Our results point to the importance of promoter activity in restricting, improving, and controlling the kinetics of transgene expression during the maturation of hiPSC retinal derivatives. Differentiation requires mechanisms to initiate specific transcriptional changes and to reinforce those changes when mature cell states are reached. By employing a cell-type-specific promoter we put transgene expression under the new transcriptional program of mature cells.

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