Ryan Elsebai

English 21003

Annotated bibliography

Mar. 22, 2025

Annotated bibliography

Summary

Inagaki, S., Nakamura, S., Kuse, Y., Aoshima, K., Funato, M., Shimazawa, M., & Hara, H. (2025). Establishment of vascularized human retinal organoids from induced pluripotent stem cells. Stem Cells. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1093/stmcls/sxae093 

This study explores the enhancement of retinal organoids through vascularization, the development of new blood vessels, to overcome limitations in oxygen and nutrient diffusion, which hinder organoid growth and function. Researchers created vascularized retinal organoids by co-culturing ROs with vascular endothelial cells derived from vascular organoids to study the way the two cell types interact. These findings highlight the potential of vascularized retinal organoids as advanced models for studying retinal vascular diseases and developing personalized therapeutic strategies in ophthalmology.

Connection 

By co-culturing retinal organoids with vascular endothelial cells from vascular organoids, the research demonstrates how these cell types can work together to create a more robust model. These findings are directly related to stem cell research, as they highlight the potential for using stem cell-derived retinal organoids as advanced tools to better understand and treat retinal diseases. I will use this source to demonstrate the significance in vascularization and how vascularized stem cells can be applied in biomedical therapy.

Quotes

“When vROs were cultured under conditions that mimicked diabetes, their size and the number of retinal ganglion cells were significantly decreased.”

“Vascularization may circumvent these problems because it allows oxygen and nutrients to enter the organoid core. In the present study, ROs and vascular organoids (VOs) were generated from healthy human induced pluripotent stem cells.”

“Our findings underscore the potential of vROs as invaluable tools for elucidating disease mechanisms and screening therapeutic interventions for retinal vascular disorders.”

Summary

Mummery, C. L., & Roelen, B. A. J. (2013). Cloning human embryos. Nature, 498(7453), 174–175. https://doi.org/10.1038/498174a 

This article discusses how human embryonic stem cells using somatic-cell nuclear transfer are made. The authors describe the study’s significance, including the resolution of previous technical failures and the ethical implications compared to induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells. The findings provide insights into stem cell generation and potential applications in disease modeling and regenerative medicine. This resource is valuable for understanding advancements in cloning and stem cell research.

The article posits that embryonic stem cells made through somatic-cell nuclear transfer have the potential to surpass induced pluripotent stem cells in their regenerative capabilities. The authors also examine the ethical concerns surrounding this method in comparison to induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, emphasizing their significance in stem cell research. This article will help me with my research due to the fact that it provides insight into how researchers in the field draw distinctions between different types of findings and whether or not those findings are academically viable.

Quotes
“Apart from the nucleus, mitochondria are the only organelles that contain DNA, which encodes around ten genes.”

“One implication of this achievement was that similarly cloned embryos could be used to produce stem cells that would be genetically identical to the cells of the somatic-cell donor…”