Gregory Borschel
Indiana University-Purdue University-Indianapolis, IN·Medicine & Clinical Research
The cornea, the clear front window of the eye, constantly renews its outer cell layer. That renewal depends on limbal stem cells, which sit at the cornea's edge.
- Fields
Medicine & Clinical Research
Neuroscience
Biology
- Topics
neurotrophic keratopathy
cornea
limbal stem cells
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Jun 2029
What they work on
- Determine how much corneal Schwann cells, the support cells that accompany nerve fibers, control limbal stem cell activity, using an animal model of neurotrophic keratopathy, selective cell ablation and tracking of corneal cell populations.
- Probe how corneal nerve supply and its duration affect renewal of the corneal surface, using a model in which donor nerve cells are surgically introduced into nerve-free corneas to restore clarity.
- Validate a computationally predicted library of signals from Schwann cells to limbal stem cells, derived from single-cell RNA sequencing of healthy, denervated and surface-stripped corneas, and identify factors that act directly on the stem cells.
- Develop topical therapies for neurotrophic keratopathy based on Schwann cell-derived factors that support corneal surface renewal and wound healing.
More about the research
Corneal nerves are somehow needed for this process. When the nerves are impaired or absent, patients develop corneal wounds that never heal and can lead to permanent blindness, a condition called neurotrophic keratopathy (NK). NK is a leading cause of corneal blindness in Americans and has no definitive treatment. How nerves control the stem cells is unknown.
Why it matters
Patients with neurotrophic keratopathy develop nonhealing corneal wounds that can cause permanent blindness, and current options are limited. Identifying the specific factors Schwann cells release to support limbal stem cells could point to topical treatments that restore corneal healing. The work could also broaden understanding of how nerves support stem cells in tissue repair.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Han Peng
Northwestern University, IL·Biology
Determine whether nitrogen mustard exposure frees Beclin1, a protein that starts autophagy, from its partner Bcl2 in corneal cells and mice, and whether changing this binding alters mustard-induced autophagy.
David Myung
Stanford University, CA·Biomedical Engineering
Test whether the stiffness, composition and crosslinking chemistry of collagen gels affect the survival of corneal mesenchymal stromal cells (c-MSCs) and their release of healing factors.
Vivian Lee
University of Pennsylvania, PA·Neuroscience
Determine the role of NMDA receptors, glutamate-sensing receptors, in corneal nerve maintenance and regeneration by conditionally deleting them in sensory nerves or in Schwann cells, the nerves' support cells, in mice.
The school
Indiana University-Purdue University-Indianapolis: 25 labs on PI Pages, $89M a year on research, 120 research doctorates a year.
More about Indiana University-Purdue University-Indianapolis
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