Vitamin B3, nicotinamide, enhances mitochondrial metabolism to promote differentiation of the retinal pigment epithelium.

In the mammalian retina, a metabolic ecosystem exists in which photoreceptors acquire glucose from the choriocapillaris with the help of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE). While the photoreceptor cells are primarily glycolytic, exhibiting Warburg-like metabolism, the RPE is reliant on mitochondrial respiration. However, the ways in which mitochondrial metabolism affect RPE cellular functions are not clear. We first used the human RPE cell line, ARPE-19, to examine mitochondrial metabolism in the context of cellular differentiation. We show that nicotinamide induced rapid differentiation of ARPE-19 cells, which was reversed by removal of supplemental nicotinamide. During the nicotinamide-induced differentiation, we observed using quantitative PCR, Western blotting, electron microscopy, and metabolic respiration and tracing assays that (1) mitochondrial gene and protein expression increased, (2) mitochondria became larger with more tightly folded cristae, and (3) mitochondrial metabolism was enhanced. In addition, we show that primary cultures of human fetal RPE cells responded similarly in the presence of nicotinamide. Furthermore, disruption of mitochondrial oxidation of pyruvate attenuated the nicotinamide-induced differentiation of the RPE cells. Together, our results demonstrate a remarkable effect of nicotinamide on RPE metabolism. We also identify mitochondrial respiration as a key contributor to the differentiated state of the RPE and thus to many of the RPE functions that are essential for retinal health and photoreception.

Microtubule Motor Transport of Organelles in a Specialized Epithelium: The RPE.

The retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) is a uniquely polarized epithelium that lies adjacent to the photoreceptor cells in the retina, and is essential for photoreceptor function and viability. Two major motile organelles present in the RPE are the melanosomes, which are important for absorbing stray light, and phagosomes that result from the phagocytosis of the distal tips of the photoreceptor cilium, known as the photoreceptor outer segment (POS). These organelles are transported along microtubules, aligned with the apical-basal axis of the RPE. Although they undergo a directional migration, the organelles exhibit bidirectional movements, indicating both kinesin and dynein motor function in their transport. Apical melanosome localization requires dynein; it has been suggested that kinesin contribution might be complex with the involvement of more than one type of kinesin. POS phagosomes undergo bidirectional movements; roles of both plus- and minus-end directed motors appear to be important in the efficient degradation of phagosomes. This function is directly related to retinal health, with defects in motor proteins, or in the association of the phagosomes with the motors, resulting in retinal degenerative pathologies.

Correction to: Differentiation of RPE cells from integration-free iPS cells and their cell biological characterization.

The original article [1] contains an error in the legend of Fig 5 whereby the descriptions for panels 5d and 5e are incorrect; as such, the corrected legend can be viewed below with its respective figure images.

Rapid differentiation of the human RPE cell line, ARPE-19, induced by nicotinamide.

Human RPE cell lines, especially the ARPE-19 cell line, are widely-used in eye research, as well as general epithelial cell studies. In comparison with primary RPE cells, they offer relative convenience and consistency, but cultures derived from these lines are typically not well differentiated. We describe a simple, rapid method to establish cultures from ARPE-19 cells, with significantly improved epithelial cell morphology and cytoskeletal organization, and RPE-related functions. We identify the presence of nicotinamide, a member of the vitamin B family, as an essential factor in promoting the observed differentiation, indicating the importance of metabolism in RPE cell differentiation.

Defective phagosome motility and degradation in cell nonautonomous RPE pathogenesis of a dominant macular degeneration.

Stargardt macular dystrophy 3 (STGD3) is caused by dominant mutations in the ELOVL4 gene. Like other macular degenerations, pathogenesis within the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) appears to contribute to the loss of photoreceptors from the central retina. However, the RPE does not express ELOVL4, suggesting photoreceptor cell loss in STGD3 occurs through two cell nonautonomous events: mutant photoreceptors first affect RPE cell pathogenesis, and then, second, RPE dysfunction leads to photoreceptor cell death. Here, we have investigated how the RPE pathology occurs, using a STGD3 mouse model in which mutant human ELOVL4 is expressed in the photoreceptors. We found that the mutant protein was aberrantly localized to the photoreceptor outer segment (POS), and that resulting POS phagosomes were degraded more slowly in the RPE. In cell culture, the mutant POSs are ingested by primary RPE cells normally, but the phagosomes are processed inefficiently, even by wild-type RPE. The mutant phagosomes excessively sequester RAB7A and dynein, and have impaired motility. We propose that the abnormal presence of ELOVL4 protein in POSs results in phagosomes that are defective in recruiting appropriate motor protein linkers, thus contributing to slower degradation because their altered motility results in slower basal migration and fewer productive encounters with endolysosomes. In the transgenic mouse retinas, the RPE accumulated abnormal-looking phagosomes and oxidative stress adducts; these pathological changes were followed by pathology in the neural retina. Our results indicate inefficient phagosome degradation as a key component of the first cell nonautonomous event underlying retinal degeneration due to mutant ELOVL4.

Cell Culture Analysis of the Phagocytosis of Photoreceptor Outer Segments by Primary Mouse RPE Cells.

The phagocytosis of photoreceptor outer segments (POSs) by the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) is essential for retinal homeostasis. Defects in this process can be caused by mutations in the photoreceptor cells, the RPE cells, or both cell types. This function can be experimentally investigated by performing an in vitro phagocytosis assay, in which cultured RPE cells are challenged with isolated POSs, and subsequently tested for their ability to degrade the POSs. A significant advantage of this approach is that mutant phenotypes can be attributed either to the photoreceptor or the RPE cells, by experimenting with different permutations of mutant and control photoreceptor and RPE cells. In this chapter, we detail the method for a double-immunofluorescence assay for analysis of the binding, ingestion, and subsequent degradation of isolated mouse POSs by cultured mouse primary RPE cells.

Differentiation of RPE cells from integration-free iPS cells and their cell biological characterization.

BACKGROUND: Dysfunction of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) is implicated in numerous forms of retinal degeneration. The readily accessible environment of the eye makes it particularly suitable for the transplantation of RPE cells, which can now be derived from autologous induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), to treat retinal degeneration. For RPE transplantation to become feasible in the clinic, patient-specific somatic cells should be reprogrammed to iPSCs without the introduction of reprogramming genes into the genome of the host cell, and then subsequently differentiated into RPE cells that are well characterized for safety and functionality prior to transplantation. METHODS: We have reprogrammed human dermal fibroblasts to iPSCs using nonintegrating RNA, and differentiated the iPSCs toward an RPE fate (iPSC-RPE), under Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP)-compatible conditions. RESULTS: Using highly sensitive assays for cell polarity, structure, organelle trafficking, and function, we found that iPSC-RPE cells in culture exhibited key characteristics of native RPE. Importantly, we demonstrate for the first time with any stem cell-derived RPE cell that live cells are able to support dynamic organelle transport. This highly sensitive test is critical for RPE cells intended for transplantation, since defects in intracellular motility have been shown to promote RPE pathogenesis akin to that found in macular degeneration. To test their capabilities for in-vivo transplantation, we injected the iPSC-RPE cells into the subretinal space of a mouse model of retinal degeneration, and demonstrated that the transplanted cells are capable of rescuing lost RPE function. CONCLUSIONS: This report documents the successful generation, under GMP-compatible conditions, of human iPSC-RPE cells that possess specific characteristics of healthy RPE. The report adds to a growing literature on the utility of human iPSC-RPE cells for cell culture investigations on pathogenicity and for therapeutic transplantation, by corroborating findings of others, and providing important new information on essential RPE cell biological properties.