Retinal progenitor (RPE) cells exhibit a great potential to dedifferentiate into neural progenitors and trans-differentiate into retinal neurons such as interneurons, which include bipolar and amacrine cells. Considering that human RPE cells possess a multipotential capability to produce various retinal neurons, further investigations are needed to employ them in therapeutic applications in order to treat retinal degenerative diseases. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the expression patterns of the genes RPE65 (retinal pigment epithelium marker), Nestin (neural stem cell marker) and α-SMA (myofibroblast marker) during treatment of RPE cells with pulsed electromagnetic field.

RPE cells were isolated from neonatal human globes and cultured in DMEM: F12 (1:1) supplemented with 10% FBS. When cell population reached up to 60%, the cells were exposed to pulsed electromagnetic field with field intensity of 1 mT and frequency of 50 Hz, 8 hours a day for 3 days. RPE cells’ RNA was extracted and reversely transcribed using Qiagen cDNA synthesis kit and subjected to amplification by Real-Time PCR for Nestin, RPE65, and α-SMA.

Gene expression of Nestin and RPE65 was decreased in treated cultures when compared to controls (6fold for Nestin and 5.5fold for RPE65). However, gene expression of ?-SMA revealed no significant change in treated cultures as compared to controls.

Our study showed that treatment of RPE cells with the electromagnetic field did not change expression of mesenchymal cells’ specific marker α-SMA; however, it decreased retinal progenitor cells’ marker, Nestin, expression. Decreased expression of RPE65 may indicate transdifferentiation of RPE cells into other retinal terminally differentiated cells.