Xinyue Liu
University of North Texas Health Science Center, TX·Biochemistry·Early-career
In keratoconus, the cornea — the clear front window of the eye — thins and bulges into a cone shape, blurring vision for roughly one in every 500 to 2,000 Americans; 10–20% of patients eventually need a corneal transplant. The thinning happens partly because keratocytes, the cells that build and maintain the cornea's collagen scaffold, die off and the collagen degrades.
- Fields
Biochemistry
Pharmacology
Medicine & Clinical Research
- Topics
keratoconus
cornea
keratocytes
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Mar 2029
What they work on
- Identify small-molecule inhibitors of activated caspase-8, the enzyme that initiates extrinsic cell death, using sample-multiplexing mass spectrometry proteomics and antibody-based assays for apoptosis markers in human corneal stromal cells.
- Screen more than 90 heparan sulfate compounds of differing sulfation patterns and chain lengths on glycan microarrays for the ability to disrupt binding between the inflammatory cytokine TNF-α and its cell-surface receptors.
- Measure the kinetics of candidate protein–ligand interactions by two-dimensional solution nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to characterize how inhibitors engage caspase-8 and TNF-α.
- Validate whether blocking extrinsic apoptosis reverses keratoconus-like features, testing lead caspase-8 and heparan sulfate inhibitors in three-dimensional keratoconic corneal cell models.
More about the research
No current therapy targets that cell death. This project looks for molecules that block it, with the goal of a non-surgical treatment.
Why it matters
Keratoconus currently has no drug that targets the cell death driving corneal thinning, and a sizable share of patients end up needing transplant surgery. Identifying small molecules or heparan sulfate compounds that block the TNF-α/caspase-8 death pathway could open a non-surgical treatment route, and the screening platform built here may transfer to other corneal dystrophies.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Theodore Nowicki
University of California-Los Angeles, CA·Microbiology & Immunology
Compare TNF-alpha-armed and conventional TCR and CAR T cells in humanized mouse xenografts, testing tumor killing, toxicity and T-cell entry into tumors across several TCRs, CARs and tumor types.
Dimitrios Karamichos
University of North Texas Health Science Center, TX·Medicine & Clinical Research
Test whether abnormal levels of the pituitary hormones FSH and LH, and of their upstream regulator GnRH, unbalance sex hormones and alter the cornea to drive keratoconus, using cell, donor-tissue and animal models.
Yan Li
Oregon Health & Science University, OR·Biomedical Engineering
Develop ultrahigh-resolution optical coherence tomography capable of imaging the aqueous humor at the front of the eye and the vitreous gel behind it.
The school
University of North Texas Health Science Center: 4 labs on PI Pages, $110M a year on research, 16 research doctorates a year.
Reach out
A start for your email. Fill in the brackets.