Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32353323›Full record

ArticleMolecular therapy : the journal of the American Society of Gene Therapy2020

Vitamin C- and Valproic Acid-Induced Fetal RPE Stem-like Cells Recover Retinal Degeneration via Regulating SOX2.

Han Shen, Chenyue Ding, Songtao Yuan, Ting Pan, Duo Li, Hong Li, Boxian Huang, Qinghuai Liu

Open access · hybridAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Molecular therapy : the journal of the American Society of Gene Therapy, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
11citing papers in PubMed
0.4field-weighted citation impact, top 41% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

11 citing papers in PubMed, 11 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Review
  2. Article
  3. Review
  4. Rekindling Vision: Innovative Strategies for Treating Retinal Degeneration.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025
    Review
  5. Review
  6. Review
  7. Review
  8. Article
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  11. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Han ShenDepartment of Ophthalmology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210029, China.
Chenyue DingCenter of Reproduction and Genetics, Affiliated Suzhou Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Suzhou Municipal Hospital, Suzhou 215002, China.
Songtao YuanDepartment of Ophthalmology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210029, China.
Ting PanThe Affiliated Changzhou No. 2 People's Hospital with Nanjing Medical University, Changzhou 213000, China.
Duo LiDepartment of Ophthalmology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210029, China.
Hong LiCenter of Reproduction and Genetics, Affiliated Suzhou Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Suzhou Municipal Hospital, Suzhou 215002, China.
Boxian HuangCenter of Reproduction and Genetics, Affiliated Suzhou Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Suzhou Municipal Hospital, Suzhou 215002, China; State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210029, China. Electronic address: huangboxiannj@163.com.
Qinghuai LiuDepartment of Ophthalmology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210029, China. Electronic address: liuqh@njmu.edu.cn.
Jiangsu Province Hospital · CNNanjing Medical University · CNSuzhou Municipal Hospital · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cell replacement therapy has provided promising outcomes in the treatment of retinal degenerative diseases (RDDs), but the resulting limited visual improvement has raised questions about graft survival and differentiation. Through combined treatment with vitamin C and valproic acid (together, VV), we activated human fetal RPE (fRPE) cells to become highly proliferative fetal RPE stem-like cells (fRPESCs). In this study, we report that SOX2 (SRY-box 2) activation contributed to mesenchymal-epithelial transition and elevated the retinal progenitor and mesenchymal stromal markers expressions of fRPESCs. These fRPESCs could differentiate into RPE cells, rod photoreceptors, and mesenchymal lineage progenies under defined conditions. Finally, fRPESCs were transplanted into the subretinal space of an RDD mouse model, and a photoreceptor rescue benefit was demonstrated. The RPE and rod photoreceptor differentiation of transplanted fRPESCs may account for the neural retinal recovery. This study establishes fRPESCs as a highly proliferative, multi-lineage differentiation potential (including RPE, rod photoreceptor, and mesenchymal lineage differentiation), mesenchymal-to-epithelial-transitioned retinal stem-like cell source for cell-based therapy of RDDs.

Indexed as

AnimalsAscorbic AcidBiomarkersCell DifferentiationCell ProliferationCells, CulturedDisease Models, AnimalEpithelial-Mesenchymal TransitionFetal Stem CellsGene Expression RegulationHumansMiceRetinal DegenerationRetinal Pigment EpitheliumSOXB1 Transcription FactorsTreatment OutcomeAscorbic AcidBiomarkersSOX2 protein, humanSOXB1 Transcription FactorsValproic Acidascorbic acidepithelial-mesenchymal transitionretinal degenerationretinal pigment epitheliumvalproic acid

Identifiers

PMID32353323
PMCPMC7335738
OpenAlexW3021856789

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.