Wayne State University researchers seek new treatments for corneal injury and disease

DETROIT - A grant from the National Eye Institute of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will help Wayne State University researchers develop new treatments for patients with corneal injury and disease.

The five-year, nearly $2.3 million grant, "Role of matriptase in corneal epithelial homeostasis and repair," will be led by Dr. Karin List, professor of pharmacology and oncology in Wayne State's School of Medicine.

"The outermost layer of the eye, the cornea, prevents particles and bacteria from entering the eye and also limits outward water loss," said List. "This is called the corneal barrier function," said List. "We want to know how that barrier is maintained. If it's disrupted, you can get dry eye disease, infections and particles - including allergens - that can penetrate deeper into the eye and impair vision."

The key objective of the project is to identify the molecular and cellular mechanisms that ensure maintenance of a healthy and functional cornea, as well as the natural processes that facilitate corneal self-repair upon injury.

"There's very little research on the beneficial effects of proteases - enzymes that can cut other proteins in corneal function," said List. "We have found that a serine protease called matriptase can have beneficial effects for both barrier function and wound healing. Upon injury, the corneal wounds won't heal effectively if matriptase is deleted. We use different models to manipulate genes in the matriptase molecular pathways to investigate if corneal wound healing and barrier function can be improved."

List says more knowledge in the area can mean development of treatments to enhance corneal health and improvement of patient outcomes.

"Ultimately, corneal health is pivotal for vision and overall quality of life," she said. "If you have dry eye, for instance, it can cause discomfort and pain, it can make you susceptible to infection, it can be disruptive to your life. Our purpose is to study the molecular mechanisms that keep the cornea and the eye healthy. Certain patients can get chronic wounding and lasting issues, so we want to identify new ways to address these health concerns."

Wayne State collaborators on the research project include Dr. Linda Hazlett, distinguished professor and vice chair of ophthalmology, visual and anatomical sciences in the School of Medicine, and Dr. Paul Stemmer, professor, Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.

"This funding from the NIH is an excellent example of why it is critical to research health challenges that are difficult to treat in anticipation that it may lead to innovative treatments in the future," said Dr. Ezemenari M. Obasi, vice president for research & innovation at Wayne State. "Dr. List's important research may lead to the development of new treatments for patients with serious eye injuries or disease, and I look forward to her future findings."

The grant number for this award from the National Eye Institute of the National Institutes of Health is EY037251.

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Wayne State University is one of the nation's pre-eminent public research universities in an urban setting. Through its multidisciplinary approach to research and education, and its ongoing collaboration with government, industry and other institutions, the university seeks to enhance economic growth and improve the quality of life in the city of Detroit, state of Michigan and throughout the world. For more information about research at Wayne State University, visit research.wayne.edu .