Toward an Understanding of How the Cornea Acquires Various Classes of Nerves during Development
Major
Neuroscience
Submission Type
Poster
Area of Study or Work
Neuroscience
Faculty Advisor
Tyler Schwend
Location
CNS Atrium
Start Date
4-11-2026 11:15 AM
End Date
4-11-2026 12:30 PM
Abstract
The cornea, one of the most densely innervated tissues on the surface of the body, becomes populated by sensory and autonomic nerve fibers during embryonic development. Sensory nerves, which represent the vast majority of corneal nerves, protect and maintain the integrity of the cornea by detecting harmful dirt and debris on the eye’s surface. Autonomic corneal nerves, specifically those of the sympathetic branch, regulate ion transport, promote wound healing and modify the cornea’s sensitivity to threats. Deciphering how the cornea acquires the various types of nerves, whether sensory or autonomic, during development is urgently needed to understand corneal nerve pathologies and to promote neuro-regeneration of corneal nerves. Though much is known concerning how avian (chick) corneas acquire their nerves during development, past studies on developing chick corneas have exclusively used pan-neuronal antibodies, which show all of the nerves in the cornea without differentiating the different types. Here, in our study, we have used nerve-type specific antibodies capable of differentiating sensory nerves from those of the two autonomic branches, both sympathetic and parasympathetic. By utilizing these antibodies throughout different stages of avian embryonic development, we aim to gain novel spatiotemporal details about how the cornea acquires its unique types of nerves during embryonic development.
Toward an Understanding of How the Cornea Acquires Various Classes of Nerves during Development
CNS Atrium
The cornea, one of the most densely innervated tissues on the surface of the body, becomes populated by sensory and autonomic nerve fibers during embryonic development. Sensory nerves, which represent the vast majority of corneal nerves, protect and maintain the integrity of the cornea by detecting harmful dirt and debris on the eye’s surface. Autonomic corneal nerves, specifically those of the sympathetic branch, regulate ion transport, promote wound healing and modify the cornea’s sensitivity to threats. Deciphering how the cornea acquires the various types of nerves, whether sensory or autonomic, during development is urgently needed to understand corneal nerve pathologies and to promote neuro-regeneration of corneal nerves. Though much is known concerning how avian (chick) corneas acquire their nerves during development, past studies on developing chick corneas have exclusively used pan-neuronal antibodies, which show all of the nerves in the cornea without differentiating the different types. Here, in our study, we have used nerve-type specific antibodies capable of differentiating sensory nerves from those of the two autonomic branches, both sympathetic and parasympathetic. By utilizing these antibodies throughout different stages of avian embryonic development, we aim to gain novel spatiotemporal details about how the cornea acquires its unique types of nerves during embryonic development.