National Eye Institute 5R21EY035829-02

Serum components to support corneal health

This award funds a project to molecularly characterize serum tears to improve their clinical use for ocular surface disorders by identifying key bioactive components and their synergistic effects.

Description

Autologous serum tears have been used for almost 50 years to treat several ocular surface disorders including persistent epithelial defects and Sjogren's syndrome-related dry eye disease. However, clinical issues related to its formulation and accessibility remain which restrict its use to mainly clinically challenging patients. The objective of this proposal is to perform, for the first time, a detailed molecular characterization of serum tears in the context of ocular surface disease to address these limitations and to allow for more widespread use. The project aims to define the combinations of serum components (growth factors, signaling lipids, vitamins, etc.) that support corneal repair. The hypothesis is that the effects of serum tears are due to a simple combination of bioactive factors, some of which remain to be characterized, or the result of synergistic actions of serum components. The study will determine bioactive serum tear components, define synergism between components, and characterize the in vivo effects of blood-based tears in an ocular surface disease model. The expected outcome is to improve clinical use, formulation, and accessibility of serum tears, and to identify potential therapeutic targets.

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