RPE based gene and cell therapy for inherited retinal diseases: A review

The Retinal Pigment Epithelium (RPE) is the supportive layer located beneath the neural retina. Its health is essential for the proper function of photoreceptors. Indeed, any condition involving the RPE has the potential to induce an antegrade degeneration of the photoreceptors and inner retinal layers. Traditionally, degenerative disorders of the neural retina have been considered untreatable. However, the advent of gene and cell replacement therapies brings hope to halt or even cure retinal degenerative diseases. This study aims to review the most recent clinical trials registered on the RPE-based gene/cell intervention for the treatment of inherited retinal diseases (IRD). In this review, we provided an update on the clinical studies on the RPE-based gene/cell therapy for the treatment of IRD, summarized recent studies in this regard, and present the results of the corresponding clinical trials. A brief description of the details applied in the techniques, the advantages and withdraws of the utilized strategies were also included. This study provided evidence to show that gene therapy and cell replacement therapy have a great potential to become a successful treatment for IRD in the following decades, however, future studies should focus on novel methods to increase the safety and efficacy of the treatment.