Retinal Transplantation, Stem Cell and Gene Therapy in Retinitis Pigmentosa

Retinitis pigmentosa is the most common hereditary retinal dystrophy which has marked clinical and genetic heterogeneity. Common presentations among this disorder include night blindness, tunnel vision, and subsequent progression to complete blindness respectively. The known causative disease genes have a variety of developmental and functional roles, with mutations in more than 120 genes shown to be responsible for the phenotypes. In addition, mutations within the same gene have been shown to cause different disease phenotypes, even within the same family, highlighting further levels of complexity. In recent years significant advancements have been made in the understanding of the pathogenesis of the disease and stem cell and gene replacement treatments have been proposed as potentially efficacious therapies. This review summarizes the clinical development of retinal stem cell and gene therapy.