Department of Ophthalmology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China.
Bone Marrow Transplantation Center, the First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China.
Biochem Pharmacol. 2023 Jul;213:115620. doi: 10.1016/j.bcp.2023.115620. Epub 2023 May 20.
Corneal diseases affect 4.2 million people worldwide and are a leading cause of vision impairment and blindness. Current treatments for corneal diseases, such as antibiotics, steroids, and surgical interventions, have numerous disadvantages and challenges. Thus, there is an urgent need for more effective therapies. Although the pathogenesis of corneal diseases is not fully understood, it is known that injury caused by various stresses and postinjury healing, such as epithelial renewal, inflammation, stromal fibrosis, and neovascularization, are highly involved. Mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) is a key regulator of cell growth, metabolism, and the immune response. Recent studies have revealed that activation of mTOR signalling extensively contributes to the pathogenesis of various corneal diseases, and inhibition of mTOR with rapamycin achieves promising outcomes, supporting the potential of mTOR as a therapeutic target. In this review, we detail the function of mTOR in corneal diseases and how these characteristics contribute to disease treatment using mTOR-targeted drugs.
角膜疾病影响全球 420 万人，是视力损害和失明的主要原因。目前治疗角膜疾病的方法，如抗生素、类固醇和手术干预，存在许多缺点和挑战。因此，迫切需要更有效的治疗方法。虽然角膜疾病的发病机制尚未完全阐明，但已知各种应激引起的损伤和损伤后的愈合，如上皮更新、炎症、基质纤维化和新生血管形成，高度参与其中。哺乳动物雷帕霉素靶蛋白（mTOR）是细胞生长、代谢和免疫反应的关键调节剂。最近的研究表明，mTOR 信号的激活广泛有助于各种角膜疾病的发病机制，而用雷帕霉素抑制 mTOR 可取得良好的效果，支持 mTOR 作为治疗靶点的潜力。在这篇综述中，我们详细描述了 mTOR 在角膜疾病中的作用，以及这些特征如何通过 mTOR 靶向药物来促进疾病的治疗。
