Differential Expression of LncRNAs in Diabetic Corneal Neuropathy and Its Implications in Pathogenesis
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ABSTRACT:
ORGANISM(S): Mus musculus
PROVIDER: GSE329119 | GEO | 2026/05/05
REPOSITORIES: GEO
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Project description:Purpose: Pitx2-associated developmental glaucoma is characterized by anterior segment dysgenesis, ocular hypertension, and optic neuropathy. Its consequences for corneal sensory innervation remain poorly understood. We investigated whether this disease alters corneal nerve structure and sensory function in a sex-dependent manner. Methods: Male and female Pitx2egl1/egl1 and Pitx2+/+ mice were examined at 1 and 3 months. Ocular phenotyping included intraocular pressure, fundus imaging, visual evoked potentials, and optic nerve ultrastructure. RNA sequencing of corneas and trigeminal ganglia was performed at 3 months. Corneal innervation was assessed by βIII-tubulin immunofluorescence and volumetric quantification of nerve fibers. Corneal sensitivity was measured using Von Frey filaments. Results: Pitx2egl1/egl1 mice developed progressive ocular hypertension, fundus abnormalities, reduced visual evoked potential amplitudes, and optic nerve degeneration, supporting the model as early-onset glaucoma. Baseline sex-related transcriptional differences were limited in both cornea and trigeminal ganglia. In contrast, Pitx2 mutation induced sex-dependent molecular responses. Female corneas showed broader transcriptional changes enriched in inflammatory, stress-response, and tissue-remodeling pathways, whereas male corneas showed a more restricted response involving metabolic and homeostatic processes. Similar sex divergence was observed in trigeminal ganglia. Corneal nerve fiber volume was reduced in both sexes at 3 months but not at 1 month, whereas reduced sensitivity was detected only in mutant males. Conclusions: This study identifies corneal denervation as a component of Pitx2-associated developmental glaucoma. These findings suggest that glaucoma may affect the corneal sensory system beyond optic nerve pathology, highlighting a potentially overlooked dimension of disease relevant to ocular surface monitoring and patient management.
2026-07-12 | GSE336875 | GEO
Project description:Purpose: Pitx2-associated developmental glaucoma is characterized by anterior segment dysgenesis, ocular hypertension, and optic neuropathy. Its consequences for corneal sensory innervation remain poorly understood. We investigated whether this disease alters corneal nerve structure and sensory function in a sex-dependent manner. Methods: Male and female Pitx2egl1/egl1 and Pitx2+/+ mice were examined at 1 and 3 months. Ocular phenotyping included intraocular pressure, fundus imaging, visual evoked potentials, and optic nerve ultrastructure. RNA sequencing of corneas and trigeminal ganglia was performed at 3 months. Corneal innervation was assessed by βIII-tubulin immunofluorescence and volumetric quantification of nerve fibers. Corneal sensitivity was measured using Von Frey filaments. Results: Pitx2egl1/egl1 mice developed progressive ocular hypertension, fundus abnormalities, reduced visual evoked potential amplitudes, and optic nerve degeneration, supporting the model as early-onset glaucoma. Baseline sex-related transcriptional differences were limited in both cornea and trigeminal ganglia. In contrast, Pitx2 mutation induced sex-dependent molecular responses. Female corneas showed broader transcriptional changes enriched in inflammatory, stress-response, and tissue-remodeling pathways, whereas male corneas showed a more restricted response involving metabolic and homeostatic processes. Similar sex divergence was observed in trigeminal ganglia. Corneal nerve fiber volume was reduced in both sexes at 3 months but not at 1 month, whereas reduced sensitivity was detected only in mutant males. Conclusions: This study identifies corneal denervation as a component of Pitx2-associated developmental glaucoma. These findings suggest that glaucoma may affect the corneal sensory system beyond optic nerve pathology, highlighting a potentially overlooked dimension of disease relevant to ocular surface monitoring and patient management.
2026-07-12 | GSE336872 | GEO
Project description:Corneal nerve, originated from trigeminal ganglia, play an important role in conreal sensation and homeotasis. Under disease conditions when corneal nerves are damaged, such as diabetes, corneal injury, or eye surgury, patients suffer from dry eye, pain, delayed wound healing, or urceration. Current treatments are limited, underscoring the need for a regenerative therapy. Here we show that a non-invasive neural modulation therapy, transcutaneous electrical stimulation (ES), significantly restore the nerve density and sensory function in both streptozotocin-induced diabetes mice and keratectomy model. This transcriptomics analysis of TGs from in vivo ES in keratectomy models aims to find mechanistic insights into the ES-induced corneal reinnervation. The results point to ion transport and Ca2+ signaling alteration, alongside activation of neural regeneration pathways. Consistently, membrane potential recording in TGs shows a rapid hyperpolarization upon ES accompanied by increased [Ca2+]i level. Inhibition of potassium intermediate/small conductance calcium-activated channel (KCNN) abolishes the hyperpolarization and neural regeneration effect, whereas activation of KCNN channel significantly enhances nerve regeneration in the STZ model compared with sham treatment. Overall, ES restores corneal nerve density and function via KCNN activation in a diabetic mouse model, offering a novel, non-invasive, and clinically translatable therapeutic strategy for diabetic neuropathy.
2026-07-15 | GSE330561 | GEO
Project description:Differential Expression of LncRNAs in Diabetic Corneal Neuropathy and Its Implications in Pathogenesis
| PRJNA1458013 | ENA
Project description:We performed single cell transcriptional profiling of mouse corneal epithelium in streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice.
2022-12-19 | GSE182477 | GEO
Project description:The cornea is the transparent tissue covering the anterior part of the eye. Its main roles are to convey the light toward the retina, and to act as a protective barrier against infection or injury for the eye. The transparency of the cornea is a crucial component of its functionality and is the result of specific architecture and cell arrangements. The inner layer of the cornea is the endothelium, composed of a monolayer of endothelial cells. The next layer is the stroma, representing about two third of the thickness of the cornea, and is mainly composed of a specifically arranged extracellular matrix, secreted by few keratocytes1–4. Finally, the external layer is a life-long renewed pluristratified epithelium. The regulated epithelial homeostasis, crucial to maintain the corneal transparency, relies on stem and progenitor cells5. To coordinate epithelial homeostasis and healing, and to adequately respond to any change in the corneal environment, this tissue is highly innervated6,7. The corneal innervation is mainly composed of A and C sensory fibres whose cell bodies are located in the ophthalmic branch of the trigeminal ganglion8. Those fibres penetrate the corneal stroma from the periphery, as bundles of fibres branching and spreading within the stroma9. When entering in the epithelium, the fibres branche again and radiate horizontally to form the subbasal plexus. Finally, the sensory fibres shift orientation to reach the top of the epithelium, where they end up as free nerve endings6,7. There are three classes of fibres innervating the cornea: the mechano-nociceptors, the cold sensing neurons and the polymodal nociceptors, reacting respectively to mechanical, thermal and chemical stimuli10,11. Stimuli transduction is not the only role of the corneal innervation, as these fibres have a crucial role on epithelial homeostasis through the secretion of trophic factors essential for epithelial cell survival12. Due to its localization, the cornea is highly exposed to ultraviolet radiation and high oxygen tension, making it particularly vulnerable to mitochondrial defects13. These defects can be either inherited or non-inherited. Inherited forms result from mutations in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) or nuclear gene defects affecting mitochondrial function14. Inherited mitochondrial dysfunction is a key factor in the progression of Fuchs endothelial corneal dystrophy (FECD) and keratoconus13,15,16. Non-inherited mitochondrial dysfunction, on the other hand, can occur due to spontaneous mtDNA mutations or somatic mutations that accumulate with age, rendering the mitochondrial metabolism less efficient with time17. To date, the impact of inherited mitochondrial dysfunctions on corneal epithelium physiology has not been extensively studied. Case reports have linked mitochondrial diseases to corneal cloudiness18,19, perforation20 and edema21. Furthermore, mitochondrial defect was associated to inflammatory context and ROS production in ocular surface pathologies13,22. Despite these studies, the direct effect of mitochondrial disfunction on corneal biology remains elusive. Among the known pathologies originating from an inherited mitochondrial dysfunction, the dominant optic atrophy (DOA) is an inherited blinding disease caused by the degenescence of the retinal cell ganglions forming the optic nerve23. The mutation of the gene OPA1 is responsible for the majority of the DOA diagnostics. OPA1 gene encodes for a mitochondrial protein involved in the fusion process and is essential to maintain the organelle integrity. Generally, optic neuropathy is the characteristic syndrome for DOA, but a subset of patients, called dominant optic atrophy plus (DOA+), also declare extra-ocular syndromes such as ataxia, deafness and peripheral neuropathies24,25. A mouse model, bearing the OPA1delTTAG mutation, recapitulates the degenerative syndromes encountered in DOA+ patients25.. While DOA is associated with lens cloudiness, no report has linked DOA to ocular surface defects. Here, we investigated the impact of OPA1 delTTAG mutation on mouse cornea as its structure includes a large amout of sensory fibres that are crucial to maintain corneal homeostasis.
2024-07-25 | PXD052337 | Pride
Project description:A study of diabetic neuropathy in dorsal root ganglia from streptozotocin-diabetic male wistar rats over the first 8 weeks of diabetes
2006-12-10 | E-MEXP-515 | biostudies-arrayexpress
Project description:We successfully induced corneal epithelial cells from human iPSCs. Then, we perfomed global expression analysis using microarray to compare the character of hiPSC-derived corneal epithelial cells with that of the other kinds of cells. Total RNA was obtained from human iPSCs (hiPSCs), human iPSC-derived corneal epithelial cells (hiCECs), human corneal limbal epithelial cells (HCECs), human oral keratinocytes (HOKs), human dermal fibroblasts (HDFs) and six weeks-differentiated hiPSCs (hiPSC-derived ocular surface ectoderm, OSE) using the QIAZol reagent. A microarray analysis using Sure Print G3 human 8x60K slides (Agilent technologies) was performed at Takara Bio (Shiga, Japan).
2016-03-09 | E-GEOD-73971 | biostudies-arrayexpress
Project description:Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a complex metabolic disorder. Long-term hyperglycemia may induce diabetic keratopathy (DK), which is mainly characterized by delayed corneal epithelial regeneration. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been reported to play regulatory roles during tissue regeneration. However, the molecular mechanism by which miRNAs influence epithelial regeneration in DK is largely unknown. In this study, we performed miRNA and mRNA sequencing of regenerative corneal epithelium tissue from streptozotocin-induced type 1 diabetic (T1DM) and wild-type mice to screen for differentially expressed miRNAs and mRNAs. Based on regulatory network analysis, miR-223-5p was selected for subsequent experiments and Hpgds was then identified as a direct target gene. MiR-223-5p downregulation significantly promoted diabetic corneal epithelial wound healing and nerve regeneration. However, the beneficial effects of miR-223-5p inhibition were abolished by an Hpgds inhibitor. Furthermore, mechanistic studies demonstrated that miR-223-5p suppression ameliorated inflammation and enhanced cell proliferation signaling in DK. Taken together, our findings revealed that the regulatory role of miR-223-5p in diabetic corneal epithelial and nerve regeneration by mediating inflammatory processes and cell proliferation signaling. And silencing miR-223-5p may contribute to the development of potential therapeutic strategies for DK.
2021-08-23 | GSE180493 | GEO
Project description:Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a complex metabolic disorder. Long-term hyperglycemia may induce diabetic keratopathy (DK), which is mainly characterized by delayed corneal epithelial regeneration. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been reported to play regulatory roles during tissue regeneration. However, the molecular mechanism by which miRNAs influence epithelial regeneration in DK is largely unknown. In this study, we performed miRNA and mRNA sequencing of regenerative corneal epithelium tissue from streptozotocin-induced type 1 diabetic (T1DM) and wild-type mice to screen for differentially expressed miRNAs and mRNAs. Based on regulatory network analysis, miR-223-5p was selected for subsequent experiments and Hpgds was then identified as a direct target gene. MiR-223-5p downregulation significantly promoted diabetic corneal epithelial wound healing and nerve regeneration. However, the beneficial effects of miR-223-5p inhibition were abolished by an Hpgds inhibitor. Furthermore, mechanistic studies demonstrated that miR-223-5p suppression ameliorated inflammation and enhanced cell proliferation signaling in DK. Taken together, our findings revealed that the regulatory role of miR-223-5p in diabetic corneal epithelial and nerve regeneration by mediating inflammatory processes and cell proliferation signaling. And silencing miR-223-5p may contribute to the development of potential therapeutic strategies for DK.
2021-08-23 | GSE180490 | GEO