Luke Feran
Research Mentor(s): Vinay Aakalu
Mentor Department: Ophthalmology
Authors: Luke Feran, Kyung No Son, Vinay Aakalu
Session: Session 6 (3:00pm – 3:50pm)
Presentation Type: Poster 82
Abstract
Dry Eye Disease (DED) and Ocular Surface Diseases are extremely prevalent conditions, with about 20-50% of the population experiencing symptoms. Primarily indicated by lacrimal gland damage, DED is a chronic disorder with symptoms including, but not limited to; redness, burning, foreign body sensation, and light sensitivity. Effective management of DED is crucial to patient quality of life. DED stems from a hyperosmotic condition, or a condition in the cell that is higher than normal osmotic pressure. This results in overall cell damage to human corneal epithelial cells (HCE). Patients suffering from DED have osmotic pressures of up to 450 mOsM in their eyes, a figure far above the healthy 312mOsM. Typically, a higher osmotic pressure causes greater cell damage. Histatin-5 is an antimicrobial peptide commonly found in saliva that appears to be promising in treating DED due to its anti-inflammatory properties. Histatin-5 may be effective in reducing HCE cell damage as well as reducing inflammation. Herein, different concentrations of NaCl, from 19mM to 69mM, were added to cell media to mimic the physiological condition of patients with DED by creating a hyperosmotic condition. After finding the NaCl concentration at which HCE cell death is moderate for Histatin treatment, the cells were treated with Histatin-5 in an attempt to examine the extent to which cell viability recovered after treatment. These findings may contribute to the advancement of Histatin-based ocular surface disease therapies. These studies are significant as they contribute to advancements in the treatment of ocular surface diseases and ocular health as a whole.
