PERSPECTIVE article
Front. Ophthalmol.
Sec. Inflammatory Eye Diseases
Volume 5 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fopht.2025.1610215
Exploiting Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Retinal Pigment Epithelium to Unravel Host-Pathogen Interaction in Ocular Tuberculosis: A Reverse Translational In Vitro Model
Provisionally accepted
Ikhwanuliman Putera*
Sanne Van De Meerendonk
Nicole Maria Antonia Nagtzaam
Rina La Distia NoraSaskia M. Rombach
Jurriaan Evert De SteenwinkelJohannes R. Vingerling
Willem Arnout Dik
Petrus MARTINUS VAN HAGEN- Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, Netherlands
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Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) can infect the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells.Current in vitro research models for ocular tuberculosis (OTB) only rely on RPE cell culture approaches. Until now it remains unclear why only a minority of patients with active systemic tuberculosis (TB) develops concurrent OTB. There is significant variation in the clinical manifestations of OTB, which is potentially influenced by ethnic differences and diversity in mycobacterial strains. To better understand the immunopathobiology of OTB, particularly an individual's susceptibility to Mtb-infection and the specific host response, cell culture systems utilizing induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC)-derived RPE cells offer a promising in vitro model to better mimic the disease. With this technology, RPE cells can be generated from specific patients of interest, enabling to test hypotheses in a bench to bedside or reverse manner.In this current study, we explore the utility of iPSC-derived RPE cells as an in vitro model for OTB. Such an approach would overcome drawbacks associated with the currently commonly used "general" RPE cell lines as disease model. The application of iPSC-derived RPE cells offers promising options for the identification of novel biomarkers and to study individualized drug screening methods for host-directed therapy of OTB, in order to restore and maintain vision in OTB patients with sight-threatening disease.
Keywords: Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells, personalized medicine, Retinal Pigment Epithelium, Uveitis, Tuberculosis
Received: 11 Apr 2025; Accepted: 21 May 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Putera, Van De Meerendonk, Nagtzaam, La Distia Nora, Rombach, De Steenwinkel, Vingerling, Dik and VAN HAGEN. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Ikhwanuliman Putera, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, Netherlands
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