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Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St.
Louis have found in mice that proteins produced by stem cells to help regenerate the cornea may become new targets for treating and preventing corneal damage caused by dry eye
.
When the eyes are dry, the cornea is more susceptible to injury
.
By tracking the movement of stem cells (fluorescent green) in the mouse eye, the researchers were able to trace the process by which cells differentiate into corneal cells and migrate to the center of the cornea, providing clues
as to how the cells help corneal injuries heal.
Source: University of Washington School of Medicine
People with dry eye are more likely to suffer corneal damage
than people with healthy eyes.
Researchers at Washington University's St.
Louis School of Medicine have found in mice that proteins produced by stem cells that regenerate the cornea may be new targets for treating and preventing such damage
.
The study was published Jan.
2 online in the American Journal of Medicine in the Proceedings of the National Academy of
Sciences.
Dry eye occurs when the eye does not provide enough lubrication with natural tears
.
People with this common condition use various types of eye drops to replace missing natural tears and keep their eyes lubricated, but when the eyes are dry, the cornea is more likely to be injured
.
"We have drugs, but they're only effective in about 10 to 15 percent of patients," said
senior researcher Rajendra S.
Apte, M.
D.
, John F.
Hardesty, M.
D.
, Paul A.
Cibis, M.
D.
, of the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences.
"In this study, which involves key genes for eye health, we identified potential therapeutic targets that are different from those with healthy eyes
.
Tens of millions of people worldwide — an estimated 15 million in the U.
S.
alone — suffer from eye pain and blurred vision due to complications and injuries associated with dry eye, and by targeting these proteins, we may be able to treat and even prevent these injuries
more successfully.
”
The researchers analyzed genes expressed by the cornea in several mouse models, including not only dry eye but also diabetes and other diseases
.
They found that in mice with dry eye, the cornea activated the expression of the gene SPARC.
They also found that higher levels of the SPARC protein were associated with
better healing.
Joseph B.
Lin, MD/PhD student in Apte's lab, said, "We performed single-cell RNA sequencing to identify genes important for maintaining corneal health, and we believe that some of these genes, particularly SPARC, may provide potential therapeutic targets for the treatment of dry eye and corneal damage
.
"
"These stem cells are important and resilient, which is a key reason why
corneal transplants work so well," Apte explains.
"If the protein we found doesn't work as a therapy to activate these cells in dry eye patients, we could even transplant engineered limbal stem cells to prevent corneal damage
in dry eye patients.
"
