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Stone RA, Tobias JW, Wei W, Carlstedt X, Zhang L, Iuvone PM, Nickla DL. Diurnal gene expression patterns in retina and choroid distinguish myopia progression from myopia onset. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0307091. [PMID: 39028695 PMCID: PMC11259283 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0307091] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2024] [Accepted: 06/30/2024] [Indexed: 07/21/2024] Open
Abstract
The world-wide prevalence of myopia (nearsightedness) is increasing, but its pathogenesis is incompletely understood. Among many putative mechanisms, laboratory and clinical findings have implicated circadian biology in the etiology of myopia. Consistent with a circadian hypothesis, we recently reported a marked variability in diurnal patterns of gene expression in two crucial tissues controlling post-natal refractive development - the retina and choroid-at the onset of form-deprivation myopia in chick, a widely studied and validated model. To extend these observations, we assayed gene expression by RNA-Seq in retina and choroid during the progression of established unilateral form-deprivation myopia of chick. We assayed gene expression every 4 hours during a single day from myopic and contralateral control eyes. Retinal and choroidal gene expression in myopic vs. control eyes during myopia progression differed strikingly at discrete times during the day. Very few differentially expressed genes occurred at more than one time in either tissue during progressing myopia. Similarly, Gene Set Enrichment Analysis pathways varied markedly by time during the day. Some of the differentially expressed genes in progressing myopia coincided with candidate genes for human myopia, but only partially corresponded with genes previously identified at myopia onset. Considering other laboratory findings and human genetics and epidemiology, these results further link circadian biology to the pathogenesis of myopia; but they also point to important mechanistic differences between the onset of myopia and the progression of established myopia. Future laboratory and clinical investigations should systematically incorporate circadian mechanisms in studying the etiology of myopia and in seeking more effective treatments to normalize eye growth in children.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard A. Stone
- Department of Ophthalmology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - John W. Tobias
- Penn Genomics and Sequencing Core, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - Wenjie Wei
- Department of Ophthalmology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - Xia Carlstedt
- Department of Biomedical Sciences and Disease, New England College of Optometry, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Lixin Zhang
- Department of Biomedical Sciences and Disease, New England College of Optometry, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - P. Michael Iuvone
- Department of Ophthalmology & Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America
| | - Debora L. Nickla
- Department of Biomedical Sciences and Disease, New England College of Optometry, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
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Stone RA, Tobias JW, Wei W, Schug J, Wang X, Zhang L, Iuvone PM, Nickla DL. Diurnal retinal and choroidal gene expression patterns support a role for circadian biology in myopia pathogenesis. Sci Rep 2024; 14:533. [PMID: 38177383 PMCID: PMC10767138 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-50684-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2023] [Accepted: 12/22/2023] [Indexed: 01/06/2024] Open
Abstract
The prevalence of myopia (nearsightedness) is increasing to alarming levels, but its etiology remains poorly understood. Because both laboratory and clinical findings suggest an etiologic role for circadian rhythms in myopia development, we assayed gene expression by RNA-Seq in retina and choroid at the onset of unilateral experimental myopia in chick, isolating tissues every 4 h during a single 24-h period from myopic and contralateral control eyes. Occluded versus open eye gene expression differences varied considerably over the 24-h sampling period, with some occurring at multiple times of day but with others showing differences at only a single investigated timepoint. Some of the genes identified in retina or choroid of chick myopia were previously identified as candidate genes for common human myopia. Like differentially expressed genes, pathways identified by Gene Set Enrichment Analysis also varied dramatically by sampling time. Considered with other laboratory data, human genetic and epidemiology data, these findings further implicate circadian events in myopia pathogenesis. The present results emphasize a need to include time of day in mechanistic studies of myopia and to assess circadian biology directly in trying to understand better the origin of myopia and to develop more effective therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard A Stone
- Department of Ophthalmology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
| | - John W Tobias
- Penn Genomics and Sequencing Core, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Wenjie Wei
- Department of Ophthalmology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Jonathan Schug
- Penn Genomics and Sequencing Core, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Xia Wang
- Department of Biomedical Sciences and Disease, New England College of Optometry, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Lixin Zhang
- Department of Biomedical Sciences and Disease, New England College of Optometry, Boston, MA, USA
| | - P Michael Iuvone
- Department of Ophthalmology and Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Debora L Nickla
- Department of Biomedical Sciences and Disease, New England College of Optometry, Boston, MA, USA
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Kim H, Lee W, Kim YA, Yu S, Jeong J, Choi Y, Lee Y, Park YH, Kang MS, Kim MS, Kim TG. RNA-Sequencing Analysis Reveals the Role of Mitochondrial Energy Metabolism Alterations and Immune Cell Activation in Form-Deprivation and Lens-Induced Myopia in Mice. Genes (Basel) 2023; 14:2163. [PMID: 38136985 PMCID: PMC10743199 DOI: 10.3390/genes14122163] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2023] [Revised: 11/27/2023] [Accepted: 11/28/2023] [Indexed: 12/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Myopia is a substantial global public health concern primarily linked to the elongation of the axial length of the eyeball. While numerous animal models have been employed to investigate myopia, the specific contributions of genetic factors and the intricate signaling pathways involved remain incompletely understood. In this study, we conducted RNA-seq analysis to explore genes and pathways in two distinct myopia-inducing mouse models: form-deprivation myopia (FDM) and lens-induced myopia (LIM). Comparative analysis with a control group revealed significant differential expression of 2362 genes in FDM and 503 genes in LIM. Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) identified a common immune-associated pathway between LIM and FDM, with LIM exhibiting more extensive interactions. Notably, downregulation was observed in OxPhos complex III of FDM and complex IV of LIM. Subunit A of complex I was downregulated in LIM but upregulated in FDM. Additionally, complex V was upregulated in LIM but downregulated in FDM. These findings suggest a connection between alterations in energy metabolism and immune cell activation, shedding light on a novel avenue for understanding myopia's pathophysiology. Our research underscores the necessity for a comprehensive approach to comprehending myopia development, which integrates insights from energy metabolism, oxidative stress, and immune response pathways.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hojung Kim
- Translational-Transdisciplinary Research Center, Clinical Research Institute, Kyung Hee University Hospital at Gangdong, Kyung Hee University College of Medicine, Seoul 05278, Republic of Korea; (H.K.); (W.L.); (Y.-A.K.); (S.Y.); (J.J.); (Y.C.); (Y.L.)
| | - Wonmin Lee
- Translational-Transdisciplinary Research Center, Clinical Research Institute, Kyung Hee University Hospital at Gangdong, Kyung Hee University College of Medicine, Seoul 05278, Republic of Korea; (H.K.); (W.L.); (Y.-A.K.); (S.Y.); (J.J.); (Y.C.); (Y.L.)
- Department of Medicine, Kyung Hee University College of Medicine, Seoul 02453, Republic of Korea
| | - Ye-Ah Kim
- Translational-Transdisciplinary Research Center, Clinical Research Institute, Kyung Hee University Hospital at Gangdong, Kyung Hee University College of Medicine, Seoul 05278, Republic of Korea; (H.K.); (W.L.); (Y.-A.K.); (S.Y.); (J.J.); (Y.C.); (Y.L.)
- Department of Biomedical Science and Technology, Graduate School, Kyung Hee University, Seoul 02453, Republic of Korea
| | - Sanghyeon Yu
- Translational-Transdisciplinary Research Center, Clinical Research Institute, Kyung Hee University Hospital at Gangdong, Kyung Hee University College of Medicine, Seoul 05278, Republic of Korea; (H.K.); (W.L.); (Y.-A.K.); (S.Y.); (J.J.); (Y.C.); (Y.L.)
- Department of Biomedical Science and Technology, Graduate School, Kyung Hee University, Seoul 02453, Republic of Korea
| | - Jisu Jeong
- Translational-Transdisciplinary Research Center, Clinical Research Institute, Kyung Hee University Hospital at Gangdong, Kyung Hee University College of Medicine, Seoul 05278, Republic of Korea; (H.K.); (W.L.); (Y.-A.K.); (S.Y.); (J.J.); (Y.C.); (Y.L.)
- Department of Biomedical Science and Technology, Graduate School, Kyung Hee University, Seoul 02453, Republic of Korea
| | - Yueun Choi
- Translational-Transdisciplinary Research Center, Clinical Research Institute, Kyung Hee University Hospital at Gangdong, Kyung Hee University College of Medicine, Seoul 05278, Republic of Korea; (H.K.); (W.L.); (Y.-A.K.); (S.Y.); (J.J.); (Y.C.); (Y.L.)
- Department of Biomedical Science and Technology, Graduate School, Kyung Hee University, Seoul 02453, Republic of Korea
| | - Yoonsung Lee
- Translational-Transdisciplinary Research Center, Clinical Research Institute, Kyung Hee University Hospital at Gangdong, Kyung Hee University College of Medicine, Seoul 05278, Republic of Korea; (H.K.); (W.L.); (Y.-A.K.); (S.Y.); (J.J.); (Y.C.); (Y.L.)
| | - Yong Hwan Park
- Department of Microbiology, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon 16499, Republic of Korea;
| | - Min Seok Kang
- Department of Ophthalmology, Kyung Hee University Medical Center, Kyung Hee University College of Medicine, Seoul 02447, Republic of Korea;
| | - Man S. Kim
- Translational-Transdisciplinary Research Center, Clinical Research Institute, Kyung Hee University Hospital at Gangdong, Kyung Hee University College of Medicine, Seoul 05278, Republic of Korea; (H.K.); (W.L.); (Y.-A.K.); (S.Y.); (J.J.); (Y.C.); (Y.L.)
| | - Tae Gi Kim
- Department of Ophthalmology, Kyung Hee University Hospital at Gangdong, Kyung Hee University College of Medicine, Seoul 05278, Republic of Korea
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Ji S, Ye L, Yuan J, Feng Q, Dai J. Integrative Transcriptome and Proteome Analyses Elucidate the Mechanism of Lens-Induced Myopia in Mice. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 2023; 64:15. [PMID: 37819745 PMCID: PMC10584019 DOI: 10.1167/iovs.64.13.15] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2023] [Accepted: 09/16/2023] [Indexed: 10/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Purpose The purpose of this study was to investigate the underlying molecular mechanism of lens-induced myopia (LIM) through transcriptome and proteome analyses with a modified mouse myopia model. Methods Four-week-old C57BL/6J mice were treated with a homemade newly designed -25 diopter (D) lens mounting by a 3D printing pen before right eyes for 4 weeks. Refraction (RE) and axial dimensions were measured every 2 weeks. Retinas were analyzed by RNA-sequencing and data-independent acquisition liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. Gene Ontology (GO), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) annotation, and STRING databases were used to identify significantly affected pathways in transcriptomic and proteomic data sets. Western blot was used to detect the expression of specific proteins. Results The modified model was accessible and efficient. Mice displayed a significant myopic shift (approximately 8 D) following 4 weeks' of lens treatment. Through transcriptomics and proteomics analysis, we elucidated 175 differently expressed genes (DEGs) and 646 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) between binoculus. The transcriptomic and proteomic data showed a low correlation. Going over the mRNA protein matches, insulin like growth factor 2 mRNA binding protein 1 (Igf2bp1) was found to be a convincing biomarker of LIM, which was confirmed by Western blot. RNA-seq and proteome profiling confirmed that these two "omics" data sets complemented one another in KEGG pathways annovation. Among these, metabolic and human diseases pathways were considered to be correlated with the LIM forming process. Conclusions The newly constructed LIM model provides a useful tool for future myopia research. Combining transcriptomic and proteomic analysis may potentially brighten the prospects of novel therapeutic targets for patients with myopia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shunmei Ji
- Department of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Lin Ye
- Department of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University, Shanghai, China
- Department of Ophthalomolgy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Jiayue Yuan
- Department of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Qianhong Feng
- Department of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Jinhui Dai
- Department of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University, Shanghai, China
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Zeitz C, Roger JE, Audo I, Michiels C, Sánchez-Farías N, Varin J, Frederiksen H, Wilmet B, Callebert J, Gimenez ML, Bouzidi N, Blond F, Guilllonneau X, Fouquet S, Léveillard T, Smirnov V, Vincent A, Héon E, Sahel JA, Kloeckener-Gruissem B, Sennlaub F, Morgans CW, Duvoisin RM, Tkatchenko AV, Picaud S. Shedding light on myopia by studying complete congenital stationary night blindness. Prog Retin Eye Res 2023; 93:101155. [PMID: 36669906 DOI: 10.1016/j.preteyeres.2022.101155] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2022] [Revised: 12/02/2022] [Accepted: 12/05/2022] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
Myopia is the most common eye disorder, caused by heterogeneous genetic and environmental factors. Rare progressive and stationary inherited retinal disorders are often associated with high myopia. Genes implicated in myopia encode proteins involved in a variety of biological processes including eye morphogenesis, extracellular matrix organization, visual perception, circadian rhythms, and retinal signaling. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) identified in animal models mimicking myopia are helpful in suggesting candidate genes implicated in human myopia. Complete congenital stationary night blindness (cCSNB) in humans and animal models represents an ON-bipolar cell signal transmission defect and is also associated with high myopia. Thus, it represents also an interesting model to identify myopia-related genes, as well as disease mechanisms. While the origin of night blindness is molecularly well established, further research is needed to elucidate the mechanisms of myopia development in subjects with cCSNB. Using whole transcriptome analysis on three different mouse models of cCSNB (in Gpr179-/-, Lrit3-/- and Grm6-/-), we identified novel actors of the retinal signaling cascade, which are also novel candidate genes for myopia. Meta-analysis of our transcriptomic data with published transcriptomic databases and genome-wide association studies from myopia cases led us to propose new biological/cellular processes/mechanisms potentially at the origin of myopia in cCSNB subjects. The results provide a foundation to guide the development of pharmacological myopia therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christina Zeitz
- Sorbonne Université, INSERM, CNRS, Institut de la Vision, Paris, France.
| | - Jérome E Roger
- Paris-Saclay Institute of Neuroscience, CERTO-Retina France, CNRS, Université Paris-Saclay, Saclay, France
| | - Isabelle Audo
- Sorbonne Université, INSERM, CNRS, Institut de la Vision, Paris, France; CHNO des Quinze-Vingts, INSERM-DGOS CIC 1423, Paris, France
| | | | | | - Juliette Varin
- Sorbonne Université, INSERM, CNRS, Institut de la Vision, Paris, France
| | - Helen Frederiksen
- Sorbonne Université, INSERM, CNRS, Institut de la Vision, Paris, France
| | - Baptiste Wilmet
- Sorbonne Université, INSERM, CNRS, Institut de la Vision, Paris, France
| | - Jacques Callebert
- Service of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, INSERM U942, Hospital Lariboisière, APHP, Paris, France
| | | | - Nassima Bouzidi
- Sorbonne Université, INSERM, CNRS, Institut de la Vision, Paris, France
| | - Frederic Blond
- Sorbonne Université, INSERM, CNRS, Institut de la Vision, Paris, France
| | | | - Stéphane Fouquet
- Sorbonne Université, INSERM, CNRS, Institut de la Vision, Paris, France
| | | | - Vasily Smirnov
- Sorbonne Université, INSERM, CNRS, Institut de la Vision, Paris, France
| | - Ajoy Vincent
- Department of Ophthalmology and Vision Sciences, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada; Department of Ophthalmology and Vision Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada; Program in Genetics and Genome Biology, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Elise Héon
- Department of Ophthalmology and Vision Sciences, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada; Department of Ophthalmology and Vision Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada; Program in Genetics and Genome Biology, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - José-Alain Sahel
- Sorbonne Université, INSERM, CNRS, Institut de la Vision, Paris, France; CHNO des Quinze-Vingts, INSERM-DGOS CIC 1423, Paris, France; Department of Ophthalmology, The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | | | - Florian Sennlaub
- Sorbonne Université, INSERM, CNRS, Institut de la Vision, Paris, France
| | - Catherine W Morgans
- Department of Chemical Physiology & Biochemistry, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA
| | - Robert M Duvoisin
- Department of Chemical Physiology & Biochemistry, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA
| | - Andrei V Tkatchenko
- Oujiang Laboratory, Zhejiang Laboratory for Regenerative Medicine, Vision and Brain Health, Wenzhou, China; Department of Ophthalmology, Edward S. Harkness Eye Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Serge Picaud
- Sorbonne Université, INSERM, CNRS, Institut de la Vision, Paris, France
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Guggenheim JA, Clark R, Zayats T, Williams C. Assessing the contribution of genetic nurture to refractive error. Eur J Hum Genet 2022; 30:1226-1232. [PMID: 35618892 PMCID: PMC9626539 DOI: 10.1038/s41431-022-01126-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2021] [Revised: 05/10/2022] [Accepted: 05/16/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Parents pass on both their genes and environment to offspring, prompting debate about the relative importance of nature versus nurture in the inheritance of complex traits. Advances in molecular genetics now make it possible to quantify an individual's genetic predisposition to a trait via his or her 'polygenic score'. However, part of the risk captured by an individual's polygenic score may actually be attributed to the genotype of their parents. In the most well-studied example of this indirect 'genetic nurture' effect, about half the genetic contribution to educational attainment was found to be attributed to parental alleles, even if those alleles were not inherited by the child. Refractive errors, such as myopia, are a common cause of visual impairment and pose high economic and quality-of-life costs. Despite strong evidence that refractive errors are highly heritable, the extent to which genetic risk is conferred directly via transmitted risk alleles or indirectly via the environment that parents create for their children is entirely unknown. Here, an instrumental variable analysis in 1944 pairs of adult siblings from the United Kingdom was used to quantify the proportion of the genetic risk ('single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) heritability') of refractive error contributed by genetic nurture. We found no evidence of a contribution from genetic nurture: non-within-family SNP-heritability estimate = 0.213 (95% confidence interval 0.134-0.310) and within-family SNP-heritability estimate = 0.250 (0.152-0.372). Our findings imply the genetic contribution to refractive error is principally an intrinsic effect from alleles transmitted from parents to offspring.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeremy A Guggenheim
- School of Optometry & Vision Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, CF24 4HQ, UK.
| | - Rosie Clark
- School of Optometry & Vision Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, CF24 4HQ, UK
| | - Tetyana Zayats
- Analytic and Translational Genetics Unit, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02114, USA
- Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, 02142, USA
- PROMENTA, Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Cathy Williams
- Centre for Academic Child Health, Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 2BN, UK
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Ji S, Ye L, Zhang L, Xu D, Dai J. Retinal neurodegeneration in a mouse model of green-light-induced myopia. Exp Eye Res 2022; 223:109208. [DOI: 10.1016/j.exer.2022.109208] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2022] [Revised: 07/23/2022] [Accepted: 07/31/2022] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
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Affiliation(s)
- Roy Quinlan
- Biomedical Sciences, Department of Biosciences, The University of Durham, Upper Mountjoy Science Site, Durham, DH1 3LE, UK.
| | - Frank Giblin
- Biomedical Sciences Emeritus, Eye Research Institute, Oakland University, Rochester, MI, 48309, USA.
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Tkatchenko TV, Tkatchenko AV. Genetic network regulating visual acuity makes limited contribution to visually guided eye emmetropization. Genomics 2021; 113:2780-2792. [PMID: 34147636 DOI: 10.1016/j.ygeno.2021.06.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2021] [Revised: 05/25/2021] [Accepted: 06/14/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
During postnatal development, the eye undergoes a refinement process whereby optical defocus guides eye growth towards sharp vision in a process of emmetropization. Optical defocus activates a signaling cascade originating in the retina and propagating across the back of the eye to the sclera. Several observations suggest that visual acuity might be important for optical defocus detection and processing in the retina; however, direct experimental evidence supporting or refuting the role of visual acuity in refractive eye development is lacking. Here, we used genome-wide transcriptomics to determine the relative contribution of the retinal genetic network regulating visual acuity to the signaling cascade underlying visually guided eye emmetropization. Our results provide evidence that visual acuity is regulated at the level of molecular signaling in the retina by an extensive genetic network. The genetic network regulating visual acuity makes relatively small contribution to the signaling cascade underlying refractive eye development. This genetic network primarily affects baseline refractive eye development and this influence is primarily facilitated by the biological processes related to melatonin signaling, nitric oxide signaling, phototransduction, synaptic transmission, and dopamine signaling. We also observed that the visual-acuity-related genes associated with the development of human myopia are chiefly involved in light perception and phototransduction. Our results suggest that the visual-acuity-related genetic network primarily contributes to the signaling underlying baseline refractive eye development, whereas its impact on visually guided eye emmetropization is modest.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Andrei V Tkatchenko
- Department of Ophthalmology, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA; Department of Pathology and Cell Biology, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
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