<i>Supporting data for “ CONTINUOUS SECRETION OF GLIAL CELL- DERIVED NEUROTROPHIC FACTOR (GDNF) INTO THE VITREOUS BY TERMINABLE CELL- ENCAPSULATING COLLAGEN-ALGINATE COMPOSITE (CAC) GEL AS A THERAPY FOR RETINAL DEGENERATIVE DISEASES”</i>

Retinal degenerative diseases (RDDs) including age related macular degeneration (AMD), and retinitis pigmentosa (RP) can lead to irreversible vision impairment and blindness. Management of RDDs remains elusive. Encapsulated cell therapy (ECT) has shown its promising potential to provide continuous and sustained delivery of therapeutics by encapsulating drug-secreting cells into gel matrix/semipermeable membrane to treat RDDs. Previous work by our team developed collagen-alginate composite (CAC) encapsulated cell therapy (ECT)gels in which glial cell-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF)-secreting human embryonic kidney (HEK) cells were enclosed to provide continuous GDNF supply in the rat eye. Aiming to translate CAC ECT gel to clinical application, this study investigated (1) <i>in vivo </i>safety of CAC ECT gel, (2) <i>in vivo </i>performance of CAC ECT gel, and (3) <i>in vivo </i>termination of CAC ECT gels by oral administration of doxycycline (Dox) in healthy New Zealand White (NZW) rabbits, and (4) <i>in vivo </i>therapeutical potential of CAC ECT gel in NZW rabbits with retinal degeneration induced by intravenous injection of sodium iodate (SI).