Corneal scarring is a major cause of decreased visual quality and vision loss worldwide. Scarring follows disruption to normal corneal structure and function, whether from infection, laser refractive surgery, corneal transplantation, ocular trauma (chemical or physical) or corneal dystrophies. There is no suitable means of controlling corneal scaring despite more than 25 years trying to characterize cytokine signaling during wound healing. Our long-term objective is to understand mechanisms of corneal wound healing and our goal is to design effective therapies to treat or prevent corneal scarring. Our overall hypothesis is that peroxisome proliferator activated receptor gamma (PPAR3) ligands prevent corneal fibrosis and can be targeted as a therapy for this condition, with significantly greater efficacy than current clinical treatments or than blocking the activity of single cytokines.
Aim 1 : Test the hypothesis that PPAR3 ligands inhibit key pro-fibrotic activities of cultured corneal keratocytes. We use immunohistochemistry, proliferation assays, wounding assays, western blots, slot blots and Q-PCR to assess the relative effectiveness of PPAR3 ligands at modulating proliferation, migration, expression of CTGF, 1SMA, Thy-1, collagen I, collagen III, fibronectin and their mRNAs in cultured keratocytes stimulated by optimal doses of TGF2.
Aim 2 : Test the hypothesis that PPAR3 ligands inhibit key pro-fibrotic activities in cultured corneal keratocytes through both PPAR3-dependent and -independent pathways. We will use both pharmacological and genetic approaches to test our prediction that PPAR3 ligands act both by activating PPAR3 and by inhibiting TGF2-regulated pathways. Knowing the relative strengths of these mechanisms in corneal keratocytes is critical if we are to develop PPAR3 ligands as optimally-targeted therapies for corneal fibrosis.
Aim 3 : Test the hypothesis that PPAR3 ligands are more efficient inhibitors of fibrosis in PRK-induced corneal wound healing than anti-TGF2 antibodies, steroids or Mitomycin C. We will perform binocular PRK in cats followed by the topical administration of select PPAR3 ligands, anti-TGF2 antibodies, steroids or Mitomycin C. We will use immunohistochemistry to contrast key cellular aspects of the wound healing reaction. We predict that PPAR3 ligands will be associated with lower cell death, faster wound healing, less haze and lower induction of higher-order optical aberrations than use of anti-TGF2 antibodies, steroids or Mitomycin C post-operatively.

Public Health Relevance

Current approaches to reduce corneal fibrosis and preserve visual quality following eye injury or surgery are only partially effective and carry significant side effects. The proposed experiments test the hypothesis that peroxisome proliferator activated receptor gamma (PPAR3) ligands prevent corneal fibrosis by activating multiple pro-fibrotic intracellular pathways. The results will provide significant theoretical insights into the molecular mechanisms that control corneal fibrotic activity and allow us to test PPAR3 ligands as a novel in situ therapy for corneal fibrosis, with significantly greater clinical effectiveness and fewer side-effects than current treatments or than blocking the activity of single cytokines.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Eye Institute (NEI)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
2R01EY015836-06A2
Application #
7984823
Study Section
Anterior Eye Disease Study Section (AED)
Program Officer
Wujek, Jerome R
Project Start
2004-08-01
Project End
2015-06-30
Budget Start
2010-07-01
Budget End
2011-06-30
Support Year
6
Fiscal Year
2010
Total Cost
$382,500
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Rochester
Department
Ophthalmology
Type
Schools of Dentistry
DUNS #
041294109
City
Rochester
State
NY
Country
United States
Zip Code
14627
Jeon, Kye-Im; Hindman, Holly B; Bubel, Tracy et al. (2018) Corneal myofibroblasts inhibit regenerating nerves during wound healing. Sci Rep 8:12945
Wozniak, Kaitlin T; Gearhart, Sara M; Savage, Daniel E et al. (2017) Comparable change in stromal refractive index of cat and human corneas following blue-IRIS. J Biomed Opt 22:55007
Wozniak, Kaitlin T; Elkins, Noah; Brooks, Daniel R et al. (2017) Contrasting cellular damage after Blue-IRIS and Femto-LASIK in cat cornea. Exp Eye Res 165:20-28
Jeon, Kye-Im; Phipps, Richard P; Sime, Patricia J et al. (2017) Antifibrotic Actions of Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor ? Ligands in Corneal Fibroblasts Are Mediated by ?-Catenin-Regulated Pathways. Am J Pathol 187:1660-1669
Jeon, Kye-Im; Phipps, Richard P; Sime, Patricia J et al. (2015) Inhibitory effects of PPAR? ligands on TGF-?1-induced CTGF expression in cat corneal fibroblasts. Exp Eye Res 138:52-8
Savage, Daniel E; Brooks, Daniel R; DeMagistris, Margaret et al. (2014) First demonstration of ocular refractive change using blue-IRIS in live cats. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 55:4603-12
Jeon, Kye-Im; Kulkarni, Ajit; Woeller, Collynn F et al. (2014) Inhibitory effects of PPAR? ligands on TGF-?1-induced corneal myofibroblast transformation. Am J Pathol 184:1429-45
Weis, Adam J; Huxlin, Krystel R; Callan, Christine L et al. (2013) Keratocyte apoptosis and not myofibroblast differentiation mark the graft/host interface at early time-points post-DSAEK in a cat model. PLoS One 8:e75623
Hindman, Holly B; Huxlin, Krystel R; Pantanelli, Seth M et al. (2013) Post-DSAEK optical changes: a comprehensive prospective analysis on the role of ocular wavefront aberrations, haze, and corneal thickness. Cornea 32:1567-77
Huxlin, Krystel R; Hindman, Holly B; Jeon, Kye-Im et al. (2013) Topical rosiglitazone is an effective anti-scarring agent in the cornea. PLoS One 8:e70785

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