Research from a UI collaboration studying the role of genes in eye disease that leads to vision loss has been spotlighted in Iowa Now.

Those involved in the study, titled “TCF4 trinucleotide repeat expansions and UV irradiation increase susceptibility to ferroptosis in Fuchs endothelial corneal dystrophy,” from the UI College of Pharmacy pharmaceutics program – part of the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Experimental Therapeutics – were (in authorship order):

Sanjib Saha, ’23 PhD, senior scientist - AstraZeneca
Pornpoj Phruttiwanichakun and Apurva Dusane, graduate students
Aliasger Salem, Lyle and Sharon Bighley endowed chair & professor/associate vice president for Research

The work, published in Redox Biology, examined the eye disease called Fuchs endothelial corneal dystrophy. It causes the loss of corneal endothelial cells, which, left unchecked, leads to vision loss. The only treatment to date is surgery. Saha and colleagues found that one drug compound, ubiquinol, helped prevent corneal cell death.

Mark Greiner, Robert and Joell Brightfelt Professor of Corneal Research in the UI Carver College of Medicine, also was on the research team.