Regulation of corneal stromal cell behavior by modulating curvature using a hydraulically-controlled organ chip array
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ABSTRACT:
ORGANISM(S): Homo sapiens
PROVIDER: GSE308374 | GEO | 2025/09/30
REPOSITORIES: GEO
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Project description:Transparent avascular cornea providing two third refraction to the eye. Restoration of corneal transparency and clear vision in a traumatic eye involves the action of many cytokines and signaling pathways. Out of several factors, stromal keratocytes/fibroblasts (CSFs) play a central role in corneal repair and wound healing. Post trauma, keratocytes/fibroblasts produce myofibroblasts to facilitate wound repair by synthesizing and secreting large extracellular matrix components, collagens, and alpha-smooth muscle actin stress fibers. This study aimed to perform RNASeq data analysis and pathway enrichments to gain a better understanding of gene regulation in corneal fibroblasts and myofibroblasts in corneal wound repair.
2024-03-11 | GSE260476 | GEO
Project description:After stromal injury to the cornea, the release of growth factors and pro-inflammatory cytokines promotes the activation of quiescent keratocytes into a migratory fibroblast and/or fibrotic myofibroblast phenotype. Persistence of the myofibroblast phenotype can lead to corneal fibrosis and scarring, which are leading causes of blindness worldwide. This study aims to establish comprehensive transcriptional profiles for cultured corneal keratocytes, fibroblasts, and myofibroblasts to gain insights into the mechanisms through which these phenotypic changes occur. Primary rabbit corneal keratocytes were cultured in either defined serum-free media (SF), fetal bovine serum (FBS) containing media, or in the presence of TGF-β1 to induce keratocyte, fibroblast, or myofibroblast phenotypes, respectively. Bulk RNA sequencing followed by bioinformatic analyses was performed to identify significant differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and enriched biological pathways for each phenotype. Genes commonly associated with keratocytes, fibroblasts, or myofibroblasts showed high relative expression in SF, FBS, or TGF-β1 culture conditions, respectively. Differential expression and functional analyses revealed novel DEGs for each cell type, as well as enriched pathways indicative of differences in proliferation, apoptosis, extracellular matrix (ECM) synthesis, cell-ECM interactions, cytokine signaling, and cell mechanics. Overall, these data demonstrate distinct transcriptional differences among cultured corneal keratocytes, fibroblasts, and myofibroblasts. We have identified genes and signaling pathways that may play important roles in keratocyte differentiation, including many related to mechanotransduction and ECM biology. Our findings have revealed novel molecular markers for each cell type, as well as possible targets for modulating cell behavior and promoting physiological corneal wound healing.
2025-02-21 | GSE287915 | GEO
Project description:Dr. Panjwani's laboratory is focusing on the mechanism by which galectins-3 and 7 mediate corneal epithelial cell migration. We are currently performing studies to: (i) identify and characterize the corneal epithelial cell surface and extracellular matrix (ECM) molecules which serve as counterreceptors of galectin-3 and -7, to establish whether the lectins modulate corneal epithelial cell migration by binding to well known integrins, growth factor receptors, and/or ECM molecules and (ii) determine whether galectin-3 mediates corneal epithelial cell migration indirectly by modulating the expression of key adhesion and/or signal transduction molecules by using small interfering RNA, cDNA microarrays and glycogene arrays. We have prepared three independent preparations of total RNA of corneal epithelial cells from WT mice (total six samples) for analysis of glycogene expression. Samples are Normal Cornea (Left eye) and Laser ablation + 16-18 hours healing (right eye)
2010-12-11 | E-GEOD-26009 | biostudies-arrayexpress
Project description:Purpose: The goal of this study was to evaluate changes in the transcriptome profile during periocular neural crest differentiation into corneal endothelium and keratocytes. Methods: RNA profiles of chick embryonic day (E3) periocular neural crest, E5 corneal endothelium, and E7 corneal endothelium plus keratocytes were generated in triplicate by deep sequencing using Illumina HS4000. Bowtie2 and HISAT were used to map clean reads to reference gene and genome, respectively. An average mapping ratio of 76.26% to the reference gene and 93.10% to the genome were generated with Galgal5 reference assembly.Transcripts were normalized and presented as Fragments Per Kilobase Million (FPKM). Differentially expressed genes between pNCvsEn and pNCvsKEn were examined. Expression of some candidate genes was validated by in situ hybridization. Results: 790 transcripts were enriched between pNC and En, and 865 transcripts were enriched between pNC and KEn. Enriched transcripts correspond with KEGG pathways involved in cell proliferation, synthesis of extracellular matrix, focal adhesion, metabolism, and cancer. The RNA-Seq data serves as platform for further analyses of the molecular networks involved in NCC differentiation into corneal cells, and provides insights into genes involved in corneal dysgenesis and adult diseases.
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Project description:Corneal organoids are useful tools for disease modeling and tissue transplantation however they have not yet been well studied during maturation. We characterized human iPSC derived corneal organoids at 1, 2, 3 and 4 months of development using single-cell RNA sequencing to determine the cellular heterogeneity at each stage. We found pluripotent cell clusters committed to epithelial cell lineage at 1 month early corneal epithelial, endothelial and stromal cells markers at 2 months, keratocytes as the largest cell population at 3 months, and a large epithelial cell population at 4 months. We compared organoid to fetal corneal development at different stages and found that 4 month organoids closely resemble the corneal cellular complexity of the fetal (16 post conception week) and adult cornea. Using RNA velocity pseudotime trajectory analysis, we found that eye field primordial cells and limbal stem cells appear to give rise to corneal epithelial cells during development.
2023-09-06 | GSE240458 | GEO
Project description:Corneal injuries remain a major cause of consultation in the ophthalmology clinics worldwide. Repair of corneal wounds is a complex mechanism that involves cell death, migration, proliferation, differentiation, and extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling. In the present study, we used a tissue-engineered, two-layers (epithelium and stroma) human cornea as a biomaterial to study both the cellular and molecular mechanisms of wound healing. Gene profiling on microarrays revealed important alterations in the pattern of genes expressed by tissue-engineered corneas in response to wound healing. Expression of many MMPs-encoding genes was shown by microarray and qPCR analyses to increase in the migrating epithelium of wounded corneas. Many of these enzymes were converted into their enzymatically active form as wound closure proceeded. In addition, expression of MMPs by human corneal epithelial cells (HCECs) was affected both by the stromal fibroblasts and the collagen-enriched ECM they produce. Most of all, results from mass spectrometry analyses provided evidence that a fully stratified epithelium is required for proper synthesis and organization of the ECM on which the epithelial cells adhere. In conclusion, and because of the many characteristics it shares with the native cornea, this human two layers corneal substitute may prove particularly useful to decipher the mechanistic details of corneal wound healing. Primary cultures of human corneal epithelial cells cultivated on BSA (number of replicates: 7), Collagen type I (number of replicates: 2), Collagen type IV (number of replicates: 2), Fibronectin (number of replicates: 2), Tenascin C (number of replicates: 2) and Laminin (number of replicates: 2) matrix. Central, internal and external ring of wounded Tissue-engineered human cornea.
2015-11-25 | E-GEOD-75336 | biostudies-arrayexpress
Project description:Fuchs’ endothelial corneal dystrophy is major corneal disorder in the western world affecting the innermost part of the cornea, which leads to visual impairment. The morphological changes observed in Fuchs’ endothelial corneal dystrophy is well described, however, much less in known of the pathology at the molecular level. As the morphological changes observed in the cornea is profound in the extracellular matrix we sought to determine in protein profiles and changes herein in the Descement’s membrane and endothelium layer of Fuchs’ endothelial conrneal dystrophy patients when compared to healthy control tissue. Using the extracted ion chromatogram label-free MS based quantification method we quantified approximately the 50 most abundant proteins of the Descemet’s membrane and endothelial layer in in patient and control tissue. In addition, using the isobaric tag for relative and absolute quantification MS method resulted in a total of 22 regulated proteins of which the majority were extracellular proteins known to be involved in proper assembly and modulation of the basement membrane in other tissues. Many of the regulated proteins were furthermore among the most abundant proteins quantified. The two MS methods performed here suggest altered arrangement of the extracellular matrix in Fuchs’ endothelial corneal dystrophy and provide new candidate proteins that may be involved in molecular mechanism of this disease.
2014-05-27 | PXD000746 | Pride
Project description:Keratoconus (KC) is a corneal disorder characterized by central corneal protrusion and thinning. In this study, spatial transcriptomics was employed to investigate molecular and cellular variations in KC, revealing a distinct pattern of inflammatory responses across the cornea. Upregulation of inflammatory processes was observed in the central cornea, while downregulation was noted in the periphery, indicating complex regional inflammatory changes in the KC cornea. Integration with single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) further identified enhanced interactions between dendritic cells (DCs) and stromal cells, particularly mediated via the IL1B pathway, alongside increased matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) production by corneal stromal cells, underscoring the role of inflammation in KC pathogenesis. In vitro and in vivo experiments confirmed that activated DCs promoted the matrix degradation activity of stromal cells, thereby exacerbating KC pathology. Notably, inhibition of the IL-1β pathway effectively mitigated the progression of KC. These findings provide a comprehensive spatial, cellular, and molecular characterization of KC, demonstrating its inflammatory nature. The results also highlight the importance of inflammation in the peripheral cornea for early diagnosis and suggest that anti-inflammatory treatments could serve as potential adjuvant therapy for KC.
2025-06-10 | GSE285060 | GEO
Project description:To elucidate biological processes underlying the keratocyte, fibroblast, and myofibroblast phenotypes of corneal stromal cells, the gene expression patterns of these primary cultures from mouse cornea were compared with those of the adult and 10-day postnatal mouse cornea. Keywords = corneal stroma maturation keratocyte fibroblast myofibroblast TGF beta 1 Keywords: other
2004-10-27 | GSE1867 | GEO
Project description:Corneal wound healing involves complex cellular processes, including keratocyte cell death, which plays a pivotal role in initiating tissue repair. Recent studies suggest that pyroptosis, characterized by the release of pro-inflammatory factors, occurs during tissue repair which may also contribute to the inflammatory phase of corneal wound healing. In this study, we investigated the nature of cell death in human keratocytes treated with nigericin, a known pyroptosis inducer. Surprisingly, nigericin triggered a unique form of non-inflammatory cell death marked by extensive vacuolation, resembling paraptosis. Proteomic analysis revealed that our human keratocytes lack key components of the canonical pyroptosis pathway, including NLRP3, ASC, and caspase-1, potentially explaining the absence of pyroptosis in these cells. This process was further confirmed by the absence of caspase-3 activation and lack of ER stress, alongside increased autophagic marker LC3-II accumulation. These findings suggest that nigericin triggers a paraptosis-like cell death in keratocytes, rather than pyroptosis, highlighting an alternative mechanism of cell death in corneal wound healing that warrants further exploration.
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