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Updated: Sep 29, 2025
09:05
In Vitro and In Vivo Models to Study Corneal Endothelial-mesenchymal Transition
Published on: August 20, 2016
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Extracellular Vesicles Secreted by Corneal Myofibroblasts Promote Corneal Epithelial Cell Migration
Vincent Yeung1, Tancy C Zhang2, Ling Yuan1
1Department of Ophthalmology, Schepens Eye Research Institute of Mass Eye and Ear, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
International Journal of Molecular Sciences
|March 25, 2022
Summary
Extracellular vesicles from human corneal myofibroblasts significantly enhance corneal epithelial cell migration and proliferation, offering a potential new therapy for corneal wound healing.
Area of Science:
- Ophthalmology
- Cell Biology
- Extracellular Vesicles
Background:
- Corneal wound healing involves complex epithelial and stromal cell interactions.
- Extracellular vesicles (EVs) mediate communication between corneal epithelium and stroma.
- Mechanisms of EV action from corneal stromal cells on epithelial healing are not fully understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effects of EVs from human corneal keratocytes (HCKs), fibroblasts (HCFs), and myofibroblasts (HCMs) on corneal epithelial cells.
- To characterize and compare the protein cargo of these EVs.
- To assess the impact of these EVs on human corneal epithelial (HCE) cell migration, proliferation, and apoptosis.
Main Methods:
- Isolation and characterization of HCK-, HCF-, and HCM-derived EVs.
- Proteomic analysis of EVs to identify differentially expressed proteins.
- Scratch assays and proliferation/apoptosis assays to evaluate HCE cell responses to EV treatment.
Main Results:
- HCM-EVs showed enrichment in proteins like CXCL6, CXCL12, MMP1, and MMP2 compared to HCK-EVs.
- Treatment with HCM-EVs significantly increased HCE cell migration, velocity, and proliferation compared to HCK- and HCF-EVs.
- HCF-/HCM-EVs were enriched for CD63, CD81, ITGAV, and THBS1 compared to HCK-EVs.
Conclusions:
- The protein cargo of HCM-EVs plays a crucial role in enhancing corneal epithelial cell migration and proliferation.
- These findings suggest that HCM-EVs hold promise as a novel therapeutic strategy for promoting corneal wound healing.
- Understanding EV-mediated crosstalk is key to developing advanced treatments for corneal injuries.
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