Kara Poole, Krithika S Iyer, David W Schmidtke, W Matthew Petroll, Victor D Varner
{"title":"Corneal Keratocytes, Fibroblasts, and Myofibroblasts Exhibit Distinct Transcriptional Profiles In Vitro.","authors":"Kara Poole, Krithika S Iyer, David W Schmidtke, W Matthew Petroll, Victor D Varner","doi":"10.1167/iovs.66.3.28","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose: </strong>After stromal injury to the cornea, the release of growth factors and pro-inflammatory cytokines promotes the activation of quiescent keratocytes into a migratory fibroblast and/or fibrotic myofibroblast phenotype. Persistence of the myofibroblast phenotype can lead to corneal fibrosis and scarring, which are leading causes of blindness worldwide. This study aims to establish comprehensive transcriptional profiles for cultured corneal keratocytes, fibroblasts, and myofibroblasts to gain insights into the mechanisms through which these phenotypic changes occur.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Primary rabbit corneal keratocytes were cultured in either defined serum-free (SF) media, fetal bovine serum (FBS) containing media, or SF media supplemented with TGF-β1 to induce keratocyte, fibroblast, or myofibroblast phenotypes, respectively. Bulk RNA sequencing followed by bioinformatic analyses was performed to identify significant differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and enriched biological pathways for each phenotype.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Genes commonly associated with keratocytes, fibroblasts, or myofibroblasts showed high relative expression in SF, FBS, or TGF-β1 culture conditions, respectively. Differential expression and functional analyses revealed novel DEGs for each cell type, as well as enriched pathways indicative of differences in proliferation, apoptosis, extracellular matrix (ECM) synthesis, cell-ECM interactions, cytokine signaling, and cell mechanics.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Overall, these data demonstrate distinct transcriptional differences among cultured corneal keratocytes, fibroblasts, and myofibroblasts. We have identified genes and signaling pathways that may play important roles in keratocyte differentiation, including many related to mechanotransduction and ECM biology. Our findings have revealed novel molecular markers for each cell type, as well as possible targets for modulating cell behavior and promoting physiological corneal wound healing.</p>","PeriodicalId":14620,"journal":{"name":"Investigative ophthalmology & visual science","volume":"66 3","pages":"28"},"PeriodicalIF":5.0000,"publicationDate":"2025-03-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11918030/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Investigative ophthalmology & visual science","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1167/iovs.66.3.28","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"OPHTHALMOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Purpose: After stromal injury to the cornea, the release of growth factors and pro-inflammatory cytokines promotes the activation of quiescent keratocytes into a migratory fibroblast and/or fibrotic myofibroblast phenotype. Persistence of the myofibroblast phenotype can lead to corneal fibrosis and scarring, which are leading causes of blindness worldwide. This study aims to establish comprehensive transcriptional profiles for cultured corneal keratocytes, fibroblasts, and myofibroblasts to gain insights into the mechanisms through which these phenotypic changes occur.
Methods: Primary rabbit corneal keratocytes were cultured in either defined serum-free (SF) media, fetal bovine serum (FBS) containing media, or SF media supplemented with TGF-β1 to induce keratocyte, fibroblast, or myofibroblast phenotypes, respectively. Bulk RNA sequencing followed by bioinformatic analyses was performed to identify significant differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and enriched biological pathways for each phenotype.
Results: Genes commonly associated with keratocytes, fibroblasts, or myofibroblasts showed high relative expression in SF, FBS, or TGF-β1 culture conditions, respectively. Differential expression and functional analyses revealed novel DEGs for each cell type, as well as enriched pathways indicative of differences in proliferation, apoptosis, extracellular matrix (ECM) synthesis, cell-ECM interactions, cytokine signaling, and cell mechanics.
Conclusions: Overall, these data demonstrate distinct transcriptional differences among cultured corneal keratocytes, fibroblasts, and myofibroblasts. We have identified genes and signaling pathways that may play important roles in keratocyte differentiation, including many related to mechanotransduction and ECM biology. Our findings have revealed novel molecular markers for each cell type, as well as possible targets for modulating cell behavior and promoting physiological corneal wound healing.
期刊介绍:
Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science (IOVS), published as ready online, is a peer-reviewed academic journal of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO). IOVS features original research, mostly pertaining to clinical and laboratory ophthalmology and vision research in general.