Effects of macrophage and retinal pigment epithelial cell transplants on photoreceptor cell rescue in RCS rats

The effects of macrophage transplants on photoreceptor cell survival in retinas of Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) dystrophic rats were contrasted with RPE-cell transplants, sham-injection and surgical controls. The effects of these different treatments on the thickness and total area of the outer nuclear layer (ONL) were evaluated by light and electron microscopy at 1, 2 and 5 months after transplantation or surgical manipulations. Macrophage transplants into dystrophic retinas, although significantly reducing the debris zone thickness (p less than 0.01), had little effect on photoreceptor cell survival (2-3 cells thick ONL) after two months. In contrast, two months after RPE-cell transplantation, retinas exhibited an 8-10 cell thick ONL. Also, inner and outer segments of rescued photoreceptor cells were present, especially in areas directly beneath RPE-cell transplants. At the same time period, retinas injected with saline had a 2-3 cell thick ONL with no organized inner or outer segments. Furthermore, the affected ONL area in macrophage-transplanted or saline-injected retinas was significantly smaller than that seen in RPE-cell transplanted retinas (p less than 0.0001). Surviving photoreceptor cells were found only in the RPE-cell transplanted retinas five months after treatment. No effect on photoreceptor cell survival was seen in saline-injected, needle-inserted or incision-only retinas. Thus, transplantation of healthy RPE cells is an effective long-term therapeutic approach to correct the genetic defect in retinas of RCS dystrophic rats.