Abstract
AbstractDegenerative retinal diseases are a leading cause of visual loss and irreversible blindness, particularly in the developed world. Retinal pigment cell (RPE) transplantation is nowadays considered the most promising therapeutic approach for certain retinal diseases, and the presence of a supportive scaffold has been considered essential to ensure the success of the implant. In this work, collagen IV was covalently immobilized to the surface of polyimide membranes, with the purpose of developing scaffold materials for RPE cell culture. The covalent modification method involved four steps: argon-plasma treatment, acrylic acid graft polymerization, surface activation, and finally immobilization of collagen type IV. Collagen-modified membranes did not become more rough but became significantly more hydrophilic than the unmodified and dip-coated controls. ARPE-19 cell morphology and attachment were studied by immunofluorescence staining and confocal microscopy. Covalently modified surfaces showed cell a...
Highlights
Visual impairment due to retinal neurodegenerative diseases is an increasingly common problem due to the worldwide aging population
We chemically modified the surface of PI membranes by covalent immobilization of collagen type IV using carbodiimides and N-hydroxysuccinimide crosslinkers, and we investigated the effect of this functionalization on the adhesion and properties of ARPE-19 cells, a commercial immortalized human Retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cell line which is commonly used to model RPE cells (Hornof, Toropainen, & Urtti, 2005)
The membranes were preserved in a desiccator at atmospheric pressure and room temperature (RT) for 20 min to facilitate the formation of surface peroxides and hydroperoxides (Yu, Kang, & Neoh, 2002)
Summary
Visual impairment due to retinal neurodegenerative diseases is an increasingly common problem due to the worldwide aging population. RPE cells are involved in a number of important functions such as the transportation of nutrients and waste products in the retina, and performance of phagocytosis of the photoreceptor outer segments, thereby ensuring the survival and function of these light-sensitive cells (Kaarniranta et al, 2013). This central role of RPE cells makes them the main cause of pathogenesis in several retinal degenerative diseases, when dysfunction or irreversible tissue damage occurs (Bhutto & Lutty, 2012)
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