Therapeutic effects of induced pluripotent stem cells on primary open angle glaucoma

Glaucoma is an group of ocular disease associated with the degeneration of retinal ganglion cells and it finally causes vision loss.Primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) is a main type of glaucoma worldwide.The primary reason of POAG is elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) caused by the degeneration or dysfunction of the trabecular meshwork (TM). Recent studies showed that stem cell-based therapy becomes a promising approach to treat the degenerative diseases, including POAG.Among multiple types of stem cells, induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) is the one with the most clinical potential due to its autologous derivation and non-ethical issue.In this paper, we summarized the encouraging therapeutic effects of iPSCs on POAG from different species, different etiological factors and different pathological stages.Although these encouraging studies suggest that iPSC is a fabulous stem cell type to regenerate the damaged tissue, more efforts are required for clinical application.In addition, we discussed several solutions to improve the safety of iPSCs and provided potential approaches to improve the therapeutic efficiency and specific targeting.Answering these questions will help us to better understand the characteristics of iPSCs and promote the development of bench to bedside research.

Glaucoma, primary, open angle; Induced pluripotent stem cells; Trabecular meshwork; Intraocular pressure