Figure 4. TGF-β1 treated mASCs prevent long-term retinal capillary dropout in diabetic retinopathic Akimba mice.

A, B, Passage 4 mouse adipose-derived stem cells (mASCs) were found to express SMA (80.3%), PDGFR-β (14.9%), or both (13%) compared to unstained controls. C, mASCs also express SMA in a typical pattern in vitro, similar to hASCs. D–M, TGF-β1 treated mASCs were injected at P9 in Akimba mice, with PBS carrier control injected in the contralateral eye. Compared to eyes injected with PBS carrier control (D), circumscribed area of retinal capillary loss in 8 week old Akimba mice was substantially decreased in eyes injected with mASCs (E), as indicated by a 79% reduction of capillary dropout area (F, n = 9, p = 0.01). Similarly, PBS-injected eyes (G) demonstrated an 18% lower vascular area/total retinal area ratio than contralateral mASC-injected eyes (H), (I, n = 9, p = 0.05). Preservation of retinal capillaries is revealed at higher magnification by both lectin-stained retinal whole mounts (J, K) and in vivo fluorescein angiography (L, M). Note that images J–M were taken from the same mouse. N, After injection with DiI labeled mASCs at 5 weeks of age, subsequent harvest at 9 weeks revealed substantial integration of mASCs into an Akimba retina. O, Di-I labeled mASC wrapping around Akimba retinal microvessel. XZ and YZ planes are also displayed. Scale bars: J, K = 150 µm, N = 100 µm, O = 25 µm.