This is a practice work I illustrated based on a research paper [1] published on NEJM. This paper introduces a novel treatment for age-related macular degeneration (AMD). First, the dermal fibroblasts collected from patients are induced into autologous stem cells, then are differentiated into a retinal pigment epithelium cell sheet. The cell sheet can then be implanted into the subretinal space to substitute the impaired RPE due to AMD. Visual acuity of the patient is neither worse nor better after 1 year of implantation, and more follow-up surveys are needed.

[1] Mandai, M., Watanabe, A., Kurimoto, Y., Hirami, Y., Morinaga, C., Daimon, T., … & Takahashi, M. (2017). Autologous induced stem-cell–derived retinal cells for macular degeneration. New England Journal of Medicine, 376(11), 1038-1046.

As age-related macular degeneration (AMD) becomes a prevalent retinal disease and impacts the life quality of a huge population worldwide, the research paper describes a potential therapy for wet macular degeneration using autologous induced stem cells. This image abstract aims to introduce the background, the concept, and the method of using induced pluripotent stem cells to treat wet macular degeneration based on a research paper published on a journal [1]. The targeted audience will be people with some background information on stem cells or eye diseases, and this image abstract is good to be used in conference/research talks and as posters. The left of the image emphasizes the process from inducing skin cells to the transplantation of the retinal pigment epithelium into the patient’s eye. The audience could learn how the therapy works from this section. The right of the image demonstrates what wet macular degeneration looks like and where the implant is placed. The open eye conveys the concept in a direct fashion and the corresponding cross-sections show more details of the anatomy of the retina. The audience can have a straightforward understanding of macular degeneration and the implant in a human eye.

[1] Mandai, M., Watanabe, A., Kurimoto, Y., Hirami, Y., Morinaga, C., Daimon, T., … & Takahashi, M. (2017). Autologous induced stem-cell–derived retinal cells for macular degeneration. New England Journal of Medicine, 376(11), 1038-1046.