The Effects of Hyperthyroidism on Mouse Corneal Innervation: Implications for Human Cornea Re-innervation
Major
Neuroscience
Submission Type
Poster
Area of Study or Work
Neuroscience
Faculty Advisor
Tyler Schwend
Location
CNS Atrium
Start Date
4-11-2026 8:30 AM
End Date
4-11-2026 9:45 AM
Abstract
The cornea is the most densely innervated tissue on the body’s surface. Corneal nerves keep the eye healthy by detecting harmful debris from the external environment and also maintain hydration of the eye’s surface. Unfortunately, corneal nerves are easily damaged during physical trauma or corrective surgeries, and are very slow to regenerate or fail to do so completely in some patients. Previous research has shown that chicken embryos exposed to exogenous thyroid hormone (TH) have displayed increased innervation of the cornea. However, to assess the effectiveness of TH as a potential therapy in humans, it is first essential to show that its capacity to accelerate nerve growth is conserved across avians as well as mammals. No major differences in adult corneal innervation have been identified across species, including mouse, rabbit, dog, cat, and human. As such, an embryonic mouse model is a reasonable model that can be studied to develop an understanding of the effect of TH on mammalian corneal innervation. As such, my project aims to characterize the effects of TH on mouse corneal innervation. Mouse embryos were exposed to high levels of TH in utero by adding TH to the pregnant mother’s drinking water. Upon collection of the embryos, elevated blood thyroid levels were confirmed with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and eye tissues were collected for analysis of corneal nerve innervation patterns. By utilizing immunohistochemistry in order to visualize corneal innervation in mouse embryos, my project will study whether elevated TH acts as a nerve accelerant by influencing the growth rate and branching behavior of nerves as they enter the cornea. Our findings will reveal whether the growth-enhancing effect of TH on developing corneal nerves is conserved across avian and mammalian species by assessing for similarity in patterns of nerve growth and nerve branching in corneal innervation.
The Effects of Hyperthyroidism on Mouse Corneal Innervation: Implications for Human Cornea Re-innervation
CNS Atrium
The cornea is the most densely innervated tissue on the body’s surface. Corneal nerves keep the eye healthy by detecting harmful debris from the external environment and also maintain hydration of the eye’s surface. Unfortunately, corneal nerves are easily damaged during physical trauma or corrective surgeries, and are very slow to regenerate or fail to do so completely in some patients. Previous research has shown that chicken embryos exposed to exogenous thyroid hormone (TH) have displayed increased innervation of the cornea. However, to assess the effectiveness of TH as a potential therapy in humans, it is first essential to show that its capacity to accelerate nerve growth is conserved across avians as well as mammals. No major differences in adult corneal innervation have been identified across species, including mouse, rabbit, dog, cat, and human. As such, an embryonic mouse model is a reasonable model that can be studied to develop an understanding of the effect of TH on mammalian corneal innervation. As such, my project aims to characterize the effects of TH on mouse corneal innervation. Mouse embryos were exposed to high levels of TH in utero by adding TH to the pregnant mother’s drinking water. Upon collection of the embryos, elevated blood thyroid levels were confirmed with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and eye tissues were collected for analysis of corneal nerve innervation patterns. By utilizing immunohistochemistry in order to visualize corneal innervation in mouse embryos, my project will study whether elevated TH acts as a nerve accelerant by influencing the growth rate and branching behavior of nerves as they enter the cornea. Our findings will reveal whether the growth-enhancing effect of TH on developing corneal nerves is conserved across avian and mammalian species by assessing for similarity in patterns of nerve growth and nerve branching in corneal innervation.