Department of Genetics and Cell Biology, Haihe Laboratory of Cell Ecosystem, State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology, College of Life Sciences, Nankai University, Tianjin, China.
College of Life and Geographic Sciences, Kashi University, Kashi, China.
J Cell Physiol. 2024 May;239(5):e31215. doi: 10.1002/jcp.31215. Epub 2024 Feb 3.
Primary cilia are distributed extensively within the corneal epithelium and endothelium. However, the presence of cilia in the corneal stroma and the dynamic changes and roles of endothelial and stromal cilia in corneal homeostasis remain largely unknown. Here, we present compelling evidence for the presence of primary cilia in the corneal stroma, both in vivo and in vitro. We also demonstrate dynamic changes of both endothelial and stromal cilia during corneal development. In addition, our data show that cryoinjury triggers dramatic cilium formation in the corneal endothelium and stroma. Furthermore, depletion of cilia in mutant mice lacking intraflagellar transport protein 88 compromises the corneal endothelial capacity to establish the effective tissue barrier, leading to an upregulation of α-smooth muscle actin within the corneal stroma in response to cryoinjury. These observations underscore the essential involvement of corneal endothelial and stromal cilia in maintaining corneal homeostasis and provide an innovative strategy for the treatment of corneal injuries and diseases.
初级纤毛广泛分布于角膜上皮和内皮中。然而，角膜基质中是否存在纤毛以及内皮和基质纤毛在角膜稳态中的动态变化和作用在很大程度上尚不清楚。在这里，我们提供了令人信服的证据，证明了角膜基质中存在初级纤毛，无论是在体内还是体外。我们还证明了内皮和基质纤毛在角膜发育过程中的动态变化。此外，我们的数据表明，冷冻损伤会在角膜内皮和基质中引发剧烈的纤毛形成。此外，在缺乏鞭毛内运输蛋白 88 的突变小鼠中耗尽纤毛会损害角膜内皮建立有效组织屏障的能力，导致冷冻损伤后角膜基质中α-平滑肌肌动蛋白的上调。这些观察结果强调了角膜内皮和基质纤毛在维持角膜稳态中的重要作用，并为角膜损伤和疾病的治疗提供了一种创新策略。
