Derivation, culture and retinal pigment epithelial differentiation of human embryonic stem cells using human fibroblast feeder cells.

Purpose Retinal pigment epithelium cells derived from human embryonic stem cells (ESCs) could be useful for restoring retinal function in age-related macular degeneration. However the use of non-human feeder cells to support the growth of ESCs for clinical applications raises the concern of possible contamination because of direct contact between animal and human cells.