Targeting Mechanical Stress Signaling and Inflammasome in Traumatic Ocular Injury
Abstract
Ocular trauma and vision impairment are major public health issues for the general population, and particularly to the military, with economic burden due to ocular traumatic injury-related vision impairment in the military and Veterans in excess of $2 billion annually. Beyond the neurological damage elicited by the primary trauma, post-traumatic degeneration of surviving neurons leads to irreversible vision loss from progressive optic neuropathy. This project is premised on the new knowledge on post-traumatic signaling originating at mechanosensitive channels at the neuronal cell surface resulting in activation of a toxic inflammatory response causing neuronal cell death after ocular traumatic injuries. The project will test a hypothesis that therapeutics blocking these channels or their functional partners or the pro-inflammatory complex termed inflammasome could alleviate post-traumatic optic neuropathy and preserve vision. This innovative research will open new avenues toward development of a new generation of neuroprotectants to avert vision loss in thousands of Service Members who are at risk of losing vision due to traumatic optic neuropathy.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Dec 05, 2021
- Source ID
- W81XWH2110583
Entities
People
- Valery Shestopalov
Organizations
- United States Army
- University of Miami