TY - JOUR AB - Induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells are widely used as a research tool in regenerative medicine and embryology. In studies related to lens regeneration in the eye, iPS cells have been reported to differentiate into lens epithelial cells (LECs); however, to the best of our knowledge, no study to date has described their formation of three‑dimensional cell aggregates. Notably, in vivo studies in newts have revealed that iris cells in the eye can dedifferentiate into LECs and regenerate a new lens. Thus, as basic research on lens regeneration, the present study investigated the differentiation of human iris tissue‑derived cells and human iris tissue‑derived iPS cells into LECs and their formation of three‑dimensional cell aggregates using a combination of two‑dimensional culture, static suspension culture and rotational suspension culture. The results revealed that three‑dimensional cell aggregates were formed and differentiated into LECs expressing αA‑crystallin, a specific marker protein for LECs, suggesting that the cell‑cell interaction facilitated by cell aggregation may have a critical role in enabling highly efficient differentiation of LECs. However, the present study was unable to achieve transparency in the cell aggregates; therefore, we aim to continue to investigate the degradation of organelles and other materials necessary to make the interior of the formed cell aggregates transparent. Furthermore, we aim to expand on our current work to study the regeneration of the lens and ciliary body as a whole in vitro, with the aim of being able to restore focusing function after cataract surgery. AD - Support Office for Bioresource Research, Research Promotion Headquarters, Fujita Health University, Toyoake, Aichi 470‑1192, Japan Faculty of Pharmacy, Kindai University, Higashiosaka, Osaka 577‑8502, Japan Department of Respiratory Medicine, School of Medicine, Fujita Health University, Toyoake, Aichi 470‑1192, Japan AU - Hiramatsu,Noriko AU - Yamamoto,Naoki AU - Kato,Yu AU - Nagai,Noriaki AU - Isogai,Sumito AU - Imaizumi,Kazuyoshi DA - 2022/08/01 DO - 10.3892/etm.2022.11476 IS - 2 JO - Exp Ther Med KW - iPS cells LECs H‑iris cells three‑dimensional cell aggregate p75NTR αA‑crystallin type IV collagen SEAM PY - 2022 SN - 1792-0981 1792-1015 SP - 539 ST - Formation of three‑dimensional cell aggregates expressing lens‑specific proteins in various cultures of human iris‑derived tissue cells and iPS cells T2 - Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine TI - Formation of three‑dimensional cell aggregates expressing lens‑specific proteins in various cultures of human iris‑derived tissue cells and iPS cells UR - https://doi.org/10.3892/etm.2022.11476 VL - 24 ER -