Autophagy in the normal and diseased cornea

Karina Luiza Dias-Teixeira; Mohammad Sharifian Gh; Jeff Romano; Fatemeh Norouzi; Gordon W Laurie

doi:10.1016/j.exer.2022.109274

Autophagy in the normal and diseased cornea

Exp Eye Res. 2022 Dec:225:109274. doi: 10.1016/j.exer.2022.109274. Epub 2022 Oct 14.

Authors

Karina Luiza Dias-Teixeira¹, Mohammad Sharifian Gh¹, Jeff Romano¹, Fatemeh Norouzi¹, Gordon W Laurie²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Cell Biology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA.
² Department of Cell Biology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA; Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA; Department of Ophthalmology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA. Electronic address: glaurie@virginia.edu.

Abstract

The cornea and covering tear film are together the 'objective lens' of the eye through which 80% of light is refracted. Despite exposure to a physically harsh and at times infectious or toxic environment, transparency essential for sight is in most cases maintained. Such resiliency makes the avascular cornea a superb model for the exploration of autophagy in the regulation of homeostasis with relevancy to all organs. Nonetheless, missense mutations and inflammation respectively clog or apparently overwhelm autophagic flux to create dystrophies much like in neurodegenerative diseases or further exacerbate inflammation. Here there is opportunity to generate novel topical therapies towards the restoration of homeostasis with potential broad application.

Keywords: Autophagy; Cornea; Disease; Eye; Homeostasis.

Publication types

Review
Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Autophagy / physiology
Cornea* / physiology
Humans
Inflammation
Lens, Crystalline*
Tears

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding