Keratocyte role in guidance of corneal nerves

描述（由申请人提供）：这是一份申请指导临床科学家发展奖，培训Sandeep Jain博士。其主要教育目标是为Jain博士提供必要的结构化课程，使他成为眼神经生物学领域的独立生物医学科学家。该教育计划的具体目标包括：1)Jain博士积极参与伊利诺伊大学芝加哥分校分子生物学和神经科学的研究生教学课程；2)每周在伊利诺伊大学芝加哥分校的狮子会眼科研究所（LIERI）和其他医学分支机构举行的眼细胞和分子生物学研讨会和会议；3)在由4名知名科学家和临床医生组成的指导委员会的监督下进行严格的基础科学研究项目。导师委员会由模范人物组成，他们将为申请人提供一个有利于学习的支持性环境，一种追求卓越的精神和承诺，以及问责制。该研究计划的长期目标是帮助描述一些角膜细胞（角质细胞）和分子（EphB1/ephrinB1）神经引导线索，这些线索在角膜神经再生过程中轴突的正常生长和模式中发挥作用。我们提出了一个新的假设，即角膜上皮细胞在角膜神经再生过程中起着迄今为止尚未认识到的引导轴突的作用。本课题的具体目的是：1)EphB1/ephrinB1表达模式和过程与角膜上皮细胞活化和神经再生的关系；2)确定角膜上皮细胞ephrinBI配体诱导的正向信号传导对角膜神经再生的影响；3)确定角膜上皮细胞EphB1受体诱导的正向信号传导对神经再生的影响。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This is an application for the Mentored Clinical Scientist Development Award to train Dr. Sandeep Jain. Its main educational objective is to provide Dr. Jain with the structured program necessary for him to become an independent biomedical scientist in the area of ocular neurobiology. The specific aims of the proposed educational program consist of Dr. Jain's active participation in 1) didactic graduate course work in molecular biology and neuroscience at the University of Illinois at Chicago, 2) weekly ocular cell and molecular biology seminar and conferences at the Lions of Illinois Eye Research Institute (LIERI) and other medical affiliates of the University of Illinois at Chicago, and 3) a rigorous basic science research project under the supervision of a mentoring committee comprising four established scientists and clinicians. The mentoring committee comprises role models who will provide the applicant with a supportive setting conducive to learning, an ethos and commitment to excellence as well as accountability. The long term objective of the research proposal is to help delineate some of the cornea-resident cellular (keratocyte) and molecular (EphB1/ephrinB1) nerve guidance cues that play a role in the proper growth and patterning of axons during nerve regeneration in the cornea. We propose a novel hypothesis that cornea resident keratocytes play a hitherto unrecognized role of guiding axons during regeneration of corneal nerves. The specific aims of the project are: 1) To correlate the pattern and course of EphB1/ephrinB1 expression with keratocyte activation and nerve regeneration, 2) To determine the effect of keratocyte ephrinBI ligand induced forward signaling on corneal nerve regeneration, and 3) To determine the effect of keratocyte EphB1 receptor induced forward signaling on nerve regeneration.