Fig. 7
Histological evaluation of the retinas of RCS rats subjected to subretinal transplantation of several different types of cells. A Representative hematoxylin–eosin (HE) staining image of the retinas of RCS rats, in which 14 points at the same interval were selected to evaluate the outer nuclear layer (ONL). RGC retinal ganglion cell, INL inner nuclear layer, OLM outer limited membrane, OS outer segment, IS inner segment, RPE retinal pigment epithelium. B Representative histological analysis of the retinas of RCS rats that received no injection (noninjection) (a) and RCS rats that received a subretinal injection of PBS (b), hiPSCs (c), hDPSCs (d), hADSCs (e), hBMSCs (f), hAFSCs (g), or hiPSC-RPE cells (h) at 4 weeks post-injection. The ONL is indicated with yellow arrows. The thicker the ONL is, the greater the number of the cell body of photoreceptor cells is. C The ONL thickness at 14 points for RCS rats that received no injection (noninjection) and RCS rats that received a subretinal injection of PBS, hiPSCs, hDPSCs, hADSCs, hBMSCs, hAFSCs, or hiPSC-RPE cells at 4 weeks post-injection. D Average thickness of the ONL at 14 points for RCS rats that received no injection (noninjection) and RCS rats that received a subretinal injection of PBS, hiPSCs, hDPSCs, hADSCs, hBMSCs, hAFSCs, or hiPSC-RPE cells at 4 weeks post-injection. RCS rats subjected to four kinds of hMSCs or hiPSC-RPE cells transplantation showed a significant thicker ONL at 4 weeks post-injection. E Representative histological appearance of retinas from RCS rats that received no injection (noninjection) (a) and RCS rats that received a subretinal injection of PBS (b), hiPSCs (c), hDPSCs (d), hADSCs (e), hBMSCs (f), hAFSCs (g), or hiPSC-RPE cells (h) at 8 weeks post-injection. The ONL is indicated by yellow arrows. F The number of nuclei in the ONL at 14 points for RCS rats that received no injection (noninjection) and RCS rats that received a subretinal injection of PBS, hiPSCs, hDPSCs, hADSCs, hBMSCs, hAFSCs, or hiPSC-RPE cells at 8 weeks post-injection. G Average number of nuclei in the ONL at 14 points for RCS rats that received no injection (noninjection) and RCS rats that received a subretinal injection of PBS, hiPSCs, hDPSCs, hADSCs, hBMSCs, hAFSCs, or hiPSC-RPE cells at 8 weeks post-injection. Only RCS rats subjected to hiPSC-RPE cells transplantation showed a significant thicker ONL at 8 weeks post-injection. *p < 0.05; “ns”: the difference was not statistically significant