"Tissue-Specific Mitochondrial Dysfunction in Keratoconus: An Integrated Structural, Genomic, and Functional...

Keratoconus (KC) is a progressive corneal ectasia characterized by stromal thinning, conical protrusion, and irregular astigmatism, leading to visual impairment. Although oxidative stress is implicated in KC, the role of mitochondrial dysfunction remains unclear. We evaluated mitochondrial structural, genomic, and functional abnormalities in corneal tissues and blood from KC patients.

This prospective study enrolled 110 KC patients and 55 controls. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and immunohistochemistry (IHC) were performed on epithelial and stromal tissues from 10 KC and 5 control corneas assessing mitochondrial morphology, oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) complexes and pro-apoptotic protein NOXA. Whole mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequencing and relative mtDNA copy number analysis were performed on paired blood and corneal tissues from 50 KC patients and 35 controls including both epithelial and stromal samples. Gene expression of mitochondrial biogenesis and oxidative stress-related genes was analysed by qRT-PCR in corneal epithelium from independent 50 KC patients and 15 controls.

TEM revealed cristolysis, membrane disruption, and reduced mitochondrial density in KC corneas. IHC showed reduced expression of OXPHOS complexes and increased NOXA expression (p<0.05). Sequencing identified 1,107 mtDNA variants, with more variants in corneal tissues than matched blood (929 vs. 576; p=0.0002). Recurrent likely pathogenic variants were enriched in complex I-encoding genes (ND4, ND5). KC corneas showed reduced mtDNA copy number, downregulated POLRMT, upregulated NOX4, and significant downregulation of multiple antioxidant genes (p<0.0001).

KC patients exhibit tissue-specific mitochondrial abnormalities and impaired oxidative stress regulation, supporting a role for mitochondrial dysfunction in disease pathogenesis and highlighting potential therapeutic targets.