Functional 3-Dimensional Retinal Organoids: Technological Progress and Existing Challenges

Meimanat Fathi; Cody T Ross; Zohreh Hosseinzadeh

doi:10.3389/fnins.2021.668857

Functional 3-Dimensional Retinal Organoids: Technological Progress and Existing Challenges

Front Neurosci. 2021 Apr 20:15:668857. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2021.668857. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Meimanat Fathi^{1

2}, Cody T Ross³, Zohreh Hosseinzadeh²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Cell Techniques and Applied Stem Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Center for Biotechnology and Biomedicine (BBZ), University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
² Physiology and Pathophysiology of the Retina Group, Department of Molecular and Cellular Mechanisms of Neurodegeneration, Paul Flechsig Institute of Brain Research, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
³ Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany.

Abstract

Stem cell scientists have developed methods for the self-formation of artificial organs, often referred to as organoids. Organoids can be used as model systems for research in multiple biological disciplines. Yoshiki Sasai's innovation for deriving mammalian retinal tissue from in vitro stem cells has had a large impact on the study of the biology of vision. New developments in retinal organoid technology provide avenues for in vitro models of human retinal diseases, studies of pathological mechanisms, and development of therapies for retinal degeneration, including electronic retinal implants and gene therapy. Moreover, these innovations have played key roles in establishing models for large-scale drug screening, studying the stages of retinal development, and providing a human model for personalized therapeutic approaches, like cell transplants to replace degenerated retinal cells. Here, we first discuss the importance of human retinal organoids to the biomedical sciences. Then, we review various functional features of retinal organoids that have been developed. Finally, we highlight the current limitations of retinal organoid technologies.

Keywords: ON/OFF pathways; functionality; organoids; retina; visual cycle.

Publication types

Review