Hypoxia Alters Corneal Circadian Rhythms and Disrupts Epithelial, Neural, and Immune Balance.

ABSTRACT:

Purpose

The cornea operates under robust circadian control and is essential for ocular-surface homeostasis. Hypoxic stress-prevalent in many eye disorders and systemic conditions-can disturb these rhythms and compromise epithelial, neural, and immune balance. Here, we examine how environmental hypoxia (EH) and chemical hypoxia (CH) reshape corneal clock-gene expression and tissue integrity.

Methods

Male C57BL/6J mice were exposed to normoxia (NC), EH (10% O2), or CH (CoCl2, 15 mg/kg/d intraperitoneally) for 14 days. Corneas were collected at 3-hour intervals across a 24-hour cycle for bulk RNA sequencing. Rhythmic genes were identified by Jonckheere-Terpstra-Kendall CYCLE (JTK_CYCLE), and pathway enrichment was assessed using Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) and Phase Set

SUBMITTER: Liu J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12598830 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature