Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33628267›Full record

ArticleStem cells international2021

Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) Transmitochondrial Cybrids Protected from Cellular Damage and Death by Human Retinal Progenitor Cells (hRPCs).

Jeffrey J Yu, Daniel B Azzam, Marilyn Chwa, Kevin Schneider, Jang-Hyeon Cho, Chinhui Hsiang, Henry Klassen, M Cristina Kenney, Jing Yang

Open access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Stem cells international, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed
1.1field-weighted citation impact, top 26% 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

7 citing papers in PubMed, 8 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Review
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Retinal progenitor cells (jCell) for retinitis pigmentosa.Frontiers in cellular neuroscience · 2025
    Article
  5. Review
  6. Review
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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

9 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Jeffrey J Yu *Department of Ophthalmology, Gavin Herbert Eye Institute, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA.
Daniel B Azzam *Department of Ophthalmology, Gavin Herbert Eye Institute, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6145-8416
Marilyn ChwaDepartment of Ophthalmology, Gavin Herbert Eye Institute, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1874-6041
Kevin SchneiderDepartment of Ophthalmology, Gavin Herbert Eye Institute, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0367-0221
Jang-Hyeon ChoDepartment of Ophthalmology, Gavin Herbert Eye Institute, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA.
Chinhui HsiangDepartment of Ophthalmology, Gavin Herbert Eye Institute, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA.
Henry KlassenDepartment of Ophthalmology, Gavin Herbert Eye Institute, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA.
M Cristina KenneyDepartment of Ophthalmology, Gavin Herbert Eye Institute, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1765-1750
Jing YangDepartment of Ophthalmology, Gavin Herbert Eye Institute, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6623-1723
University of California, Irvine · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeOne of the leading causes of irreversible blindness worldwide, age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a progressive disorder leading to retinal degeneration. While several treatment options exist for the exudative form of AMD, there are currently no FDA-approved treatments for the more common nonexudative (atrophic) form. Mounting evidence suggests that mitochondrial damage and retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cell death are linked to the pathogenesis of AMD. Human retinal progenitor cells (hRPCs) have been studied as a potential restorative therapy for degenerative conditions of the retina; however, the effects of hRPC treatment on retinal cell survival in AMD have not been elucidated.

methodsIn this study, we used a cell coculture system consisting of hRPCs and AMD or age-matched normal cybrid cells to characterize the effects of hRPCs in protecting AMD cybrids from cellular and mitochondrial damage and death.

resultsAMD cybrids cocultured with hRPCs showed (1) increased cell viability; (2) decreased gene expression related to apoptosis, autophagy, endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, and antioxidant pathways; and (3) downregulation of mitochondrial replication genes compared to AMD cybrids without hRPC treatment. Furthermore, hRPCs cocultured with AMD cybrids showed upregulation of (1) neuronal and glial markers, as well as (2) putative neuroprotective factors, responses not found when hRPCs were cocultured with age-matched normal cybrids.

conclusionThe current study provides the first evidence that therapeutic benefits may be obtainable using a progenitor cell-based approach for atrophic AMD. Our results suggest that bidirectional interactions exist between hRPCs and AMD cybrids such that hRPCs release trophic factors that protect the cybrids against the cellular and mitochondrial changes involved in AMD pathogenesis while, conversely, AMD cybrids upregulate the release of these neuroprotective factors by hRPCs while promoting hRPC differentiation. These

Identifiers

PMID33628267
PMCPMC7886532
OpenAlexW3128990922

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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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.