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Updated: Apr 28, 2026
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Ex Vivo Corneal Organ Culture Model for Wound Healing Studies
Published on: February 15, 2019
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Sphingolipid Expression During Corneal Wound Healing in a Sphingosine Kinase 1 Knockout Model
Sandip K Basu1, Steve Mabry2,3, Peter Nsiah2,3
1Department of Ophthalmology, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN 38163, USA.
Cells
|April 27, 2026
Summary
Sphingosine kinase 1 (Sphk1) knockout alters bioactive sphingolipid (SPL) metabolism in mouse corneas. This impacts SPL expression during wound healing, suggesting Sphk1 plays a key role in corneal repair.
Area of Science:
- Ophthalmology
- Wound Healing Research
- Lipid Metabolism
Background:
- Corneal scarring, a fibrotic process, leads to visual impairment.
- Bioactive sphingolipids (SPLs), including sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P), regulate wound healing.
- Sphingosine kinase 1 (Sphk1) produces S1P and its absence improves corneal wound healing in mice.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of Sphk1 knockout (SphK1-/-) on SPL metabolism during corneal wound healing stages.
- To compare SPL profiles in wild-type (WT) and SphK1-/- mice corneas post-injury.
Main Methods:
- Alkali burn model induced in WT and SphK1-/- mice.
- Corneal lipidomic profiling performed at 1, 7, 14, and 28 days post-injury (DPI).
- Analysis of Sphingolipid (SPL) species expression differences between genotypes and time points.
Main Results:
- Significant differences in SPL species were observed between WT and SphK1-/- corneas, both uninjured and during healing.
- WT mice showed stage-dependent SPL modulation, with decreased expression at 1 and 14 DPI.
- This WT-like SPL modulation pattern was largely absent in SphK1-/- corneas.
Conclusions:
- SphK1 knockout significantly alters SPL metabolism during corneal wound healing.
- SphK1 and its product S1P play a previously unrecognized role in modulating SPL expression during corneal repair.
- Findings suggest SphK1 as a potential therapeutic target for managing corneal wound healing and preventing scarring.
