Project: X01
Investigation of the corneal phenotype of mice used in non-corneal studies of the SFB
This crosslinking project aims to systematically characterize corneal phenotypes in genetically modified mouse models established within different projects of Area C in SFB 1607. While these mouse strains were originally generated for non-corneal research questions, several models are expected to exhibit cornea-associated alterations linked to mitochondrial dysfunction, neuroinflammation, oxidative stress, epithelial barrier integrity, or inflammasome activation.
To address these interdisciplinary questions, the project combines expertise and analytical platforms from Areas A, B, C, and Z of SFB 1607. The study focuses on validating the respective genetic modifications within the cornea and performing an in-depth phenotypic characterization of corneal structure, immune status, vascularization, innervation, ion homeostasis, and inflammatory signaling pathways. In addition, transcriptomic profiling will provide mechanistic insight into molecular alterations across the investigated models.
The project integrates mouse models from several SFB 1607 projects, including mtDNA mutator and STING knockout mice (C01), galectin-3 knockout mice (C05), TSPO knockout mice (C06), and inflammasome-associated reporter and NLRP3 knockout models (C07). Particular emphasis is placed on age-dependent effects and inflammasome activation in response to corneal stress conditions.
By combining diverse disease models with advanced corneal analysis techniques, this project establishes a collaborative platform for uncovering previously unrecognized corneal manifestations of systemic and retinal disease pathways.
Key Methods
- Optical coherence tomography (OCT) and mOCT imaging
- Immunofluorescence
- Histological analysis (H&E staining)
- qRT-PCR validation of genetic modifications
- Bulk RNA sequencing / transcriptomic profiling
