Transcriptomic analysis of primary Müller glial cells (pMGCs) and human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived Muller glial cells (hiMGCs)

Muller glial cells (MGCs) are responsible for the homeostatic and metabolic support of the retina. Despite the importance of MGCs in retinal disorders, reliable and accessible human cell sources to be used to model MGC-associated diseases are lacking. Although primary human MGCs (pMGCs) can be purified from post-mortem retinal tissues, the donor scarcity limits their use. To overcome this problem, we developed a protocol to generate and bank human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived MGCs (hiMGCs). Using a transcriptome analysis, we showed that the 3 genetically independent hiMGCs generated were homogeneous and showed phenotypic characteristics and transcriptomic profile of pMGCs. These cells expressed key MGC markers, including Vimentin, CLU, DKK3, SOX9, SOX2, S100A16, ITGB1 and CD44 and could be cultured up to passage 8. Under our culture conditions, hiMGCs and pMGCs expressed low transcript levels of RLPB1, AQP4, KCNJ1, KCJN10 and SLC1A3. Thus, hiMGCs could be an alternative to pMGCs and an extremely valuable tool to help to understand and model glial cell involvement in retinal disorders, including DR.