Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42555638›Full record

ArticleProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America2026

3D epigenomic landscape of the human retinal pigment epithelium.

Xiyuan Liu, Dongmei Tang, Jing Zhang, Tong Li, Jiaxiang Huang, Jia Qu, Yijun Ruan, Haoxi Chai, Zai-Long Chi

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

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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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

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.

Xiyuan Liu *State Key Laboratory of Eye Health, Eye Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou 325027, China.ORCID 0000-0003-0319-2813
Dongmei Tang *Life Sciences Institute and The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China.ORCID 0009-0002-3155-0729
Jing ZhangState Key Laboratory of Eye Health, Eye Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou 325027, China.
Tong LiState Key Laboratory of Eye Health, Eye Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou 325027, China.
Jiaxiang HuangLife Sciences Institute and The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China.
Jia QuState Key Laboratory of Eye Health, Eye Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou 325027, China.
Yijun RuanLife Sciences Institute and The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China.ORCID 0009-0008-5273-5195
Haoxi ChaiLife Sciences Institute and The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China.ORCID 0000-0001-8626-1700
Zai-Long ChiState Key Laboratory of Eye Health, Eye Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou 325027, China.ORCID 0009-0008-9597-6546

Funding

Eye Hospital Wenzhou Medical University YNZD1201901MOST | National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) 32250710678MOST | National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) 32400426MOST | National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) 82271114MOST | NSFC | NSFC-Zhejiang Joint Fund | | Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province (ZJNSF) LZ22H120001Wenzhou Medical University (WMU) KYYW202227
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) is crucial for visual function, and its dysfunction contributes to retinal diseases such as age-related macular degeneration. Despite the translational potential of iPSC-derived RPE (iPSC-RPE) in cell replacement therapy, the functional visual gains achieved to date are modest. A key challenge is that the molecular and epigenomic signatures underlying functional RPE are yet to be fully elucidated. By integrating multiomics data, we systematically benchmarked the 3D epigenomic landscapes of primary human RPE (hRPE), iPSC-RPE, and the immortalized ARPE-19 cell line. Our analysis reveals that iPSC-RPE exhibits a mixed molecular state. iPSC-RPE recapitulates hRPE-like transcription and chromatin looping, but its histone modification states remain incompletely matured, and its chromatin accessibility and higher-order chromatin organization do not fully converge to hRPE. Furthermore, we found that hRPE exhibits strong extracellular matrix (ECM) organization driven by enhancer-mediated long-range chromatin interactions and enriched RUNX1 motifs, while iPSC-RPE retains key developmental-related transcriptional signatures, marked by factors such as HAND1, OTX2, and PAX6. These findings establish a multiomics benchmark for RPE maturity, pinpoint key regulatory nodes like ECM organization and RUNX1 for therapeutic targeting, and provide a roadmap for optimizing differentiation protocols and scaffold design in retinal regenerative medicine.

Indexed as

Epigenesis, GeneticEpigenomicsRetinal Pigment EpitheliumCell DifferentiationCell LineChromatinExtracellular MatrixHumansInduced Pluripotent Stem CellsChromatin3D epigenomicextracellular matrixhuman primary retinal pigment epitheliumiPSC-derived retinal pigment epitheliumRPE transplantation

Identifiers

PMID42555638
PMCPMC13462866

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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.