It has recently been shown that bone marrow cells can differentiate into various lineage cells including neural cells in vitro and in vivo. Therefore it is an attractive therapeutic intervention to apply autologous bone marrow-derived stem cells that may offer neuroprotection to laser-induced retinal injuries. The purpose of this study is to develop a method with which to visualize bone marrow stem cells dynamics in mouse retinal circulation. We have used a physiological method, confocal scanning laser ophthalmoscope (SLO), to track the highly enriched stem/progenitor cells circulating in the retina. Stem cells were enriched by immunomagnetic depletion of cells committed to the T- and B lymphocytic, myeloid and erythorid lineages. CellTracker^TM Green-labeled stem cells were injected into the tail veins of mice with laser-induced focal retinal injuries. Bone marrow stem cells labeled with CellTracker^TM Green were visible in the retinal circulation for as long as 1 hour and 30 minutes. These studies suggest that stem cell-enriched bone marrow cells may have the ability to mobilize into laser-induced retinal injuries and possibly further proliferate, differentiate and functionally integrate into the retina.

Date Published: 5 March 2007
PDF: 8 pages
Proc. SPIE 6426, Ophthalmic Technologies XVII, 642621 (5 March 2007); doi: 10.1117/12.711487

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 6426:
Ophthalmic Technologies XVII
Bruce E. Stuck; Fabrice Manns; Per G. Söderberg; Michael Belkin M.D.; Arthur Ho, Editor(s)