Reconstruct Human Retinoblastoma In Vitro.

Abstract

Human RB is pediatric cancer, which is lethal if no treatment is administered. As RB originates from cone precursors, which is relatively rare in rodent models, meanwhile regarding the interspecies differences between humans and rodents, a disease model derived from humans is more beneficial for uncovering the mechanisms of human RB and seeking the targets of therapy. Herein, the protocol describes the generation of two gene-edited hESC lines with a biallelic RB1 point mutation (RB1Mut/Mut) and an RB1 knockout mutation (RB1-/-), respectively. During the process of retinal development, the formation of RB is observed. The RB cell lines are also established by segregating from the RB organoids. Altogether, by differentiating the gene-edited hESC lines into the retinal organoids using a 2D and 3D combined differentiation protocol, we have successfully reconstructed the human RB in a dish and identified its cone-precursor origin. It would provide a helpful disease model for observing the retinoblastoma genesis, proliferation, and growth as well as further developing novel therapeutic agents.