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©The Author(s) 2025. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Stem Cells. Dec 26, 2025; 17(12): 111374
Published online Dec 26, 2025. doi: 10.4252/wjsc.v17.i12.111374
Published online Dec 26, 2025. doi: 10.4252/wjsc.v17.i12.111374
Novel developments in retinal regeneration: Advances and future outlooks in stem cell therapy
Marco Zeppieri, Department of Ophthalmology, University Hospital of Udine, Udine 33100, Italy
Marco Zeppieri, Rosa Giglio, Daniele Tognetto, Department of Medicine, Surgery and Health Sciences, University of Trieste, Trieste 34129, Italy
Federico Visalli, Department of Ophthalmology, University of Catania, Catania 95123, Italy
Mutali Musa, Department of Optometry, University of Benin, Benin 300283, Nigeria
Alessandro Avitabile, Faculty of Medicine, University of Catania, Catania 95123, Italy
Caterina Gagliano, Fabiana D’Esposito, Francesco Cappellani, Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Enna “Kore”, Enna 94100, Italy
Caterina Gagliano, Francesco Cappellani, Eye Center, G.B. Morgagni-DSV, Catania 95100, Italy
Fabiana D’Esposito, Imperial College Ophthalmic Research Group Unit, Imperial College, London NW1 5QH, United Kingdom
Co-corresponding authors: Marco Zeppieri and Caterina Gagliano.
Author contributions: Zeppieri M, Visalli F, Musa M, Avitabile A, Giglio R, Tognetto D, Gagliano C, D’Esposito F, and Cappellani F wrote the outline, assisted in the writing of the draft and final paper, and assisted in the editing, making critical revisions of the manuscript and viewing all versions of the manuscript; Zeppieri M, Visalli F, Musa M, Avitabile A, and Cappellani F did the research and writing of the manuscript; Zeppieri M, Gagliano C, D’Esposito F, and Cappellani F were responsible for the conception and design of the study; Zeppieri M, Visalli F, Musa M, Gagliano C, D’Esposito F, and Cappellani F contributed to the scientific editing. All authors provided the final approval of the article. Zeppieri M and Gagliano C contributed equally to this manuscript as co-corresponding authors.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Marco Zeppieri, MD, PhD, Department of Ophthalmology, University Hospital of Udine, p. le S. Maria della Misericordia 15, Udine 33100, Italy.
Received: July 1, 2025
Revised: August 3, 2025
Accepted: November 11, 2025
Published online: December 26, 2025
Processing time: 180 Days and 10.2 Hours
Revised: August 3, 2025
Accepted: November 11, 2025
Published online: December 26, 2025
Processing time: 180 Days and 10.2 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: Stem cell therapies have a revolutionary potential to restore eyesight in individuals afflicted with retinal degenerative disorders, including age-related macular degeneration, retinitis pigmentosa, and Stargardt disease. Progress in human embryonic stem cell- and induced pluripotent stem cell-derived retinal cells, novel delivery mechanisms, and gene-editing methods is expediting clinical use. Nonetheless, enduring functional integration, immunological tolerance, and carcinogenic hazards persist as unresolved difficulties. Future success will rely on combinatorial strategies and global regulatory alignment to fully realize the potential of regenerative ophthalmology.