The Synthecon RCCMax, Perfusion Bioreactor Featured on Cover - ISSCR-Stem Cell Reports.

 

The Full Article: “Accelerated and Improved Differentiation of Retinal Organoids from Pluripotent Stem Cells in Rotating-Wall Vessel Bioreactors.” Stem Cell Reports 10:300-313, 2018

 

Retinal disease is a devastating condition within the U.S. and around the world, affecting more than 4.2 million Americans, and carrying an annual economic burden of $145 billion. Currently, there is a lack of suitable models to study various diseases and evaluate possible therapies. Researchers at the National Eye Institute of the National Institutes of Health have demonstrated that Rotating-Wall Vessel (RWV) bioreactors can expedite and improve retinal organoid growth and differentiation over static 3D culture.

 

Synthecon’s Rotary Cell Culture System bioreactor, (also called RWV), a NASA-developed technology, encourages the 3D formation of cells in culture. The system provides low-shear, 3D dynamic culture while optimizing mass transport of nutrients through the media. Read more about the Principles of Operation of the RCCS here. 3D culture methods which utilize static suspension to create organoids are diffusion-limited. These methods often fail to encourage biophysical stimulation required for differentiation into various tissue-specific cell types. Through various studies, the RCCS has demonstrated an ability to form highly biomimetic tissue constructs.

 

In this study, DiStefano et al. sought to compare the RCCS to static 3D cultures in the formation of functional retinal organoids.  Development of these organoids is essential to develop therapies for blindness and other retinal defects. In order to address this need, the mechanisms driving development and regulation of stratified neural retina (NR) must be characterized.

Overall, the RCCS outperformed static 3D culture methods, allowing for faster and more complete formation of retinal organoids from pluripotent stem cells (PSCs).

The dynamic conditions of the RCCS improved differentiation and organization of PSCs into structures mimicking those in-vivo.