Piezo1 Enhances Macrophage Phagocytosis and Pyrin Activation to Ameliorate Fungal Keratitis.

Purpose: Fungal keratitis (FK) remains a treatment challenge, necessitating new therapeutic targets. Piezo1, a mechanosensitive ion channel, regulates calcium signaling and immune cell function. This study investigates its role in macrophage-mediated antifungal responses in FK.

Atg5-Mediated Lipophagy Induces Ferroptosis in Corneal Epithelial Cells in Dry Eye Disease.

Purpose: Ferroptosis occurred in corneal epithelial cells has been implicated in the inflammation in dry eye disease (DED). Given the proposed link between ferroptosis and autophagy, this study aims to investigate the role of autophagy in driving ferroptosis in corneal epithelial cell and enrich the pathogenesis underlying DED.

Methods: DED models were established in C57BL/6 mice via scopolamine injection and in human corneal epithelial cell line (HCEC) using hyperosmotic medium.

Engineered Mesenchymal Stromal Cell Exosomes-Loaded Microneedles Improve Corneal Healing after Chemical Injury.

Corneal alkali burns represent a prevalent ophthalmic emergency with the potential to induce blindness. The main contributing mechanisms include excessive inflammation and delayed wound healing. Existing clinical therapies have limitations, promoting the exploration of alternative methods that offer improved efficacy and reduced side effects.

Circadian disruption reduces MUC4 expression via the clock molecule BMAL1 during dry eye development.

Circadian disruption, as a result of shiftwork, jet lag, and other lifestyle factors, is a common public health problem associated with a wide range of diseases, such as metabolic disorders, neurodegenerative diseases, and cancer. In the present study, we established a chronic jet lag model using a time shift method every 3 days and assessed the effects of circadian disruption on ocular surface homeostasis. Our results indicated that jet lag increased corneal epithelial defects, cell apoptosis, and proinflammatory cytokine expression.

KCNK5 Regulating Potassium Efflux and Inducing Pyroptosis in Corneal Epithelial Cells Through TNFSF10-Mediated Autophagy in Dry Eye.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to elucidate the involvement of potassium two pore domain channel subfamily K member 5 (KCNK5)-mediated potassium efflux in the pathogenesis of dry eye and to unravel the underlying molecular mechanisms.

Methods: To induce experimental dry eye in adult wild-type C57BL/6 mice, scopolamine was administered via subcutaneous injection, and the mice were subjected to desiccating stress. To create an in vitro model of dry eye, desiccation stress was applied to the human corneal epithelial cell line (HCE-T).

Photocurable and Temperature-Sensitive Bioadhesive Hydrogels for Sutureless Sealing of Full-Thickness Corneal Wounds.

Penetrating corneal wounds can cause severe vision impairment and require prompt intervention to restore globe integrity and minimize the risk of infection. Tissue adhesives have emerged as a promising alternative to suturing for mitigating postoperative complications. However, conventional water-soluble adhesives suffer formidable challenges in sealing penetrating corneal wounds due to dilution or loss in a moist environment.

Myeloid-derived suppressor cells ameliorate corneal alkali burn through IL-10-dependent anti-inflammatory properties.

This study aims to investigate the efficiency and the underlying mechanism of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) in corneal alkali burns (CAB). In the study, CD11b Gr-1 cells from C57BL/6J mice bone marrow were cultured and induced. Cell activity and immunoregulatory function were assessed by flow cytometry in vitro.

Oxidative Stress Initiates Receptor-Interacting Protein Kinase-3/Mixed Lineage Kinase Domain-Like-Mediated Corneal Epithelial Necroptosis and Nucleotide-Binding Oligomerization Domain-Like Receptor Protein 3 Inflammasome Signaling during Fungal Keratitis.

Fungal keratitis remains a major cause of severe visual loss in developing countries because of limited choices of therapy. The progression of fungal keratitis is a race between the innate immune system and the outgrowth of fungal conidia. Programmed necrosis (necroptosis), a type of proinflammatory cell death, has been recognized as a critical pathologic change in several diseases.

IFN-γ Facilitates Corneal Epithelial Cell Pyroptosis Through the JAK2/STAT1 Pathway in Dry Eye.

Purpose: To investigate the effect of gamma interferon (IFN-γ) on corneal epithelial pyroptosis in an experimental dry eye (DE) model and explore the underlying molecular mechanisms.

Methods: Experimental DE was established in adult wild-type (WT) C57BL/6 mice and Ifng-knockout mice on a C57BL/6 background by subcutaneous injection of scopolamine (1.5 mg/0.

Mechanoresponsive Drug Loading System with Tunable Host-Guest Interactions for Ocular Disease Treatment.

Conventional administration of eye drops often requires high dosages and/or repetitive treatments to achieve therapeutic efficacy. This is inefficient and may result in side effects or even toxicity. Although many delivery systems of ophthalmic drugs have been reported, most of them work in a fixed format in which both the type and dose of the loaded drugs cannot be changed upon demand.

Developing a new treatment for superficial fungal infection using antifungal Collagen-HSAF dressing.

Fungal pathogens are common causes of superficial clinical infection. Their increasing drug resistance gradually makes existing antifungal drugs ineffective. Heat stable antifungal factor (HSAF) is a novel antifungal natural product with a unique structure.

AKR1C1 Protects Corneal Epithelial Cells Against Oxidative Stress-Mediated Ferroptosis in Dry Eye.

Purpose: To evaluate the precise mode of cell death and to investigate the molecular mechanism underlying the initiation of inflammation in dry eye disease (DED).

Methods: C57BL/6 mice were injected with scopolamine subcutaneously and exposed to desiccating stress to establish a DED mouse model. An immortalized human corneal epithelial cell line (HCEC) was cultured under hyperosmolarity (500 mOsM).

Galectin-3 Is a Crucial Immunological Disease Marker in Patients with Fungal Keratitis.

Fungal keratitis, one of the most common infectious eye diseases in China, often results in a poor prognosis due to a delayed diagnosis and the insufficiency of effective therapy. There is an urgent need to identify specific biomarkers for the disease. In this study, we screened out tear proteins in patients with fungal keratitis by microsphere-based immunoassay analysis.

Inhibition of Galectin-3 Impairs Antifungal Immune Response in Fungal Keratitis.

Galectin-3 is one of the galectin family members which are master regulators of immune homeostasis, especially in infectious diseases. However, its mechanism of immune regulation in fungal keratitis has not been thoroughly studied. Our study is aimed at clarifying the role of galectin-3 in the fungal keratitis mouse model in vivo, thereby providing a new biomarker of antifungal therapy.

TLR4-Dependent DUOX2 Activation Triggered Oxidative Stress and Promoted HMGB1 Release in Dry Eye.

Dry eye disease (DED) is one of the most common ocular surface diseases worldwide. DED has been characterized by excessive accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), following significant corneal epithelial cell death and ocular surface inflammation. However, the key regulatory factor remains unclear.

Natural polymer-derived photocurable bioadhesive hydrogels for sutureless keratoplasty.

Keratoplasty is the gold standard treatment for visual impairment caused by corneal damage. The use of suturing as the bonding method is the source of many complications following keratoplasty. Currently available corneal adhesives do not have both adequate adhesive strength and acceptable biocompatibility.

Therapeutic effects of an anti-IL-6 antibody in fungal keratitis: Macrophage inhibition and T cell subset regulation.

Immune modulation plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of fungal keratitis (FK). However, the immune cell-mediated processes linking the innate immune response to the adaptive immune response are incompletely elucidated. IL-6 plays crucial roles in infectious and inflammatory processes in the cornea, regulating not only mononuclear macrophage differentiation but also lymphocyte activation, and IL-6 might be a useful target for immune intervention in FK.

Lovastatin Inhibits HIV-1-Induced MHC-I Downregulation by Targeting Nef-AP-1 Complex Formation: A New Strategy to Boost Immune Eradication of HIV-1 Infected Cells.

Current combined antiretroviral therapy (cART) mainly targets 3 of the 15 HIV proteins leaving many potential viral vulnerabilities unexploited. To purge the HIV-1 latent reservoir, various strategies including "shock and kill" have been developed. A key question is how to restore impaired immune surveillance.

Induction of DDIT4 Impairs Autophagy Through Oxidative Stress in Dry Eye.

Purpose: To assess how DNA damage-inducible transcript 4 (DDIT4) and autophagic flux are altered in dry eye disease and reveal the underlying mechanisms.

Methods: C57BL/6 mice were exposed to desiccating stress (subcutaneous scopolamine [0.5 mg/0.

Chimeric Antigen Receptor T Cells Guided by the Single-Chain Fv of a Broadly Neutralizing Antibody Specifically and Effectively Eradicate Virus Reactivated from Latency in CD4+ T Lymphocytes Isolated from HIV-1-Infected Individuals Receiving Suppressive Combined Antiretroviral Therapy.

Unlabelled: Despite the advent of combined antiretroviral therapy (cART), the persistence of viral reservoirs remains a major barrier to curing human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection. Recently, the shock and kill strategy, by which such reservoirs are eradicated following reactivation of latent HIV-1 by latency-reversing agents (LRAs), has been extensively practiced. It is important to reestablish virus-specific and reliable immune surveillance to eradicate the reactivated virus-harboring cells.