Project description:The corneal epithelial barrier maintains the metabolic activities of the ocular surface by regulating membrane transporters and metabolic enzymes responsible for the homeostasis of the eye as well as the pharmacokinetic behavior of drugs. Despite its importance, no established biomimetic in vitro methods are available to perform the spatiotemporal investigation of metabolism and determine the transportation of endogenous and exogenous molecules across the corneal epithelium barrier. This study introduces multiple corneal epitheliums on a chip namely, Corneal Epithelium on a Chip (CEpOC), which enables the spatiotemporal collection as well as analysis of micro-scaled extracellular metabolites from both the apical and basolateral sides of the barriers. Longitudinal samples collected during 48 h period were analyzed using untargeted liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry metabolomics method, and 104 metabolites were annotated. We observed the spatiotemporal secretion of biologically relevant metabolites (i.e., antioxidant, glutathione and uric acid) as well as the depletion of essential nutrients such as amino acids and vitamins mimicking the in vivo molecules trafficking across the human corneal epithelium. Through the shifts of extracellular metabolites and quantitative analysis of mRNA associated with transporters, we were able to investigate the secretion and transportation activities across the polarized barrier in a correlation with the expression of corneal transporters. Thus, CEpOC can provide a non-invasive, simple, yet effectively informative method to determine pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics as well as to discover novel biomarkers for drug toxicological and safety tests as advanced experimental model of the human corneal epithelium.
Project description:The cornea, composed of epithelium, stroma and endothelium, protects the anterior compartment of the eye from damage and allows transmission of light into the eye. While well described morphologically, no studies have investigated the global gene expression changes in the cornea throughout the mouseM-bM-^@M-^Ys life. We characterized the global gene expression profile of mouse cornea from early development through aging, and compared to gene expression in other epithelial tissue, to identify cornea enriched genes, pathways, and transcriptional regulators. We identified Ehf, an ets family transcription factor, as being highly selectively expressed in the corneal epithelium compared to the stroma, and highly expressed in cornea compared to other epithelial tissues. siRNA experiments and Ehf ChIP-Seq on mouse corneal epithelium confirm the role of this factor in promoting epithelial identity and cell differentiation, and suggest it carries out these functions through interactions with other cornea epithelial differentiation factors including Klf4. Whole eye globes were dissected from wild type CB6 mice. Corneal epithelium was isolated by digestion in 50% EMEM/dispase II with 50 mM sorbitol for two hours at 37M-BM-0C. ChIP was performed with an Ehf antibody, and was sequenced with an input control.
Project description:The cornea, composed of epithelium, stroma and endothelium, protects the anterior compartment of the eye from damage and allows transmission of light into the eye. While well described morphologically, no studies have investigated the global gene expression changes in the cornea throughout the mouse’s life. We characterized the global gene expression profile of mouse cornea from early development through aging, and compared to gene expression in other epithelial tissue, to identify cornea enriched genes, pathways, and transcriptional regulators. We identified Ehf, an ets family transcription factor, as being highly selectively expressed in the corneal epithelium compared to the stroma, and highly expressed in cornea compared to other epithelial tissues. siRNA experiments and Ehf ChIP-Seq on mouse corneal epithelium confirm the role of this factor in promoting epithelial identity and cell differentiation, and suggest it carries out these functions through interactions with other cornea epithelial differentiation factors including Klf4.