City
Epaper

Researchers explore how cornea heals itself after injury gets altered by dry eye disease

By ANI | Published: January 03, 2023 4:27 AM

Injuries to the cornea are more likely to occur in people with dry eye disease than in people with ...

Open in App

Injuries to the cornea are more likely to occur in people with dry eye disease than in people with healthy eyes.

Studying mice, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found that proteins made by stem cells that regenerate the cornea may be new targets for treating and preventing such injuries.

The study is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Dry eye disease occurs when the eye can't provide adequate lubrication with natural tears. People with the common disorder use various types of drops to replace missing natural tears and keep the eyes lubricated, but when the eyes are dry, the cornea is more susceptible to injury.

"We have drugs, but they only work well in about 10 per cent to 15 per cent of patients," said senior investigator Rajendra S. Apte, MD, PhD, the Paul A. Cibis Distinguished Professor in the John F. Hardesty, MD, Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences.

"In this study involving genes that are key to eye health, we identified potential targets for treatment that appear different in dry eyes than in healthy eyes. Tens of millions of people around the world -- with an estimated 15 million in the United States alone -- endure eye pain and blurred vision as a result of complications and injury associated with dry eye disease, and by targeting these proteins, we may be able to more successfully treat or even prevent those injuries."

The researchers analyzed genes expressed by the cornea in several mouse models -- not only for dry eye disease but also for diabetes and other conditions. They found that in mice with dry eye disease, the cornea activated the expression of the gene SPARC. They also found that higher levels of SPARC protein were associated with better healing.

"We conducted single-cell RNA sequencing to identify genes important to maintaining the health of the cornea, and we believe that a few of them, particularly SPARC, may provide potential therapeutic targets for treating dry eye disease and corneal injury," said first author Joseph B. Lin, an MD/PhD student in Apte's lab.

"These stem cells are important and resilient and a key reason corneal transplantation works so well," Apte explained. "If the proteins we've identified don't pan out as therapies to activate these cells in people with dry eye syndrome, we may even be able to transplant engineered limbal stem cells to prevent corneal injury in patients with dry eyes."

( With inputs from ANI )

Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor

Tags: National Academy Of SciencesWashington University School Of MedicineNational academy of scienceUs national academy of sciencesNational academy of sciences journalNational academy of sciences of the usa
Open in App

Related Stories

HealthPregnancy Accelerates Biological Aging in Women, Study Finds

HealthAir monitor can identify Covid-19 virus in five minutes

InternationalRobert De Niro attends funeral of teen grandson who died of drug overdose

TechnologyRising temperatures are making it harder for birds to breed: Study

InternationalNana Patekar to lend his voice to 'Gadar 2'

Technology Realted Stories

TechnologyMaking health insurance accessible and affordable with monthly premiums

TechnologyI’m an investor in space startup Agnikul Cosmos: Anand Mahindra

TechnologyLenskart raises $200 million from Temasek, Fidelity at $5 billion valuation

TechnologyUST acquires Endeavor Consulting Group to strengthen its position in life sciences industry

TechnologyBattery Smart to offer Zepto delivery partners access to over 1K battery swapping stations