"Stretch-sensitive ion channels and aqueous humor dynamics in glaucoma"

Abstract:

Glaucoma is the leading cause of irreversible blindness and is frequently associated with dysregulated and elevated intraocular pressure (IOP). A key tissue in determining IOP is the inner wall of Schlemm's canal, a phenotypically unique endothelial monolayer that is traversed by pores that allow fluid drainage from the eye. Much is known about these pores, yet we do not understand the mechanobiology of their formation. Here we investigate the effects of the stretch sensitive ion channel, TRPV4, on Schlemm's canal endothelial function, including pore formation. We use a variety of assays, including a novel microbead-based pore forming assay to find that TRPV4 interacts strongly with substrate mechanosensing; that TRPV4 can modulate cell stiffness and pore formation rate; and that microtubule stability has intriguing implications for Schlemm's canal function.

Bio:

Professor C. Ross Ethier is the Lawrence L. Gellerstedt, Jr. and Mary Duckworth Gellerstedt Chair in Bioengineering and a Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar at the Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University. Prior to joining Georgia Tech, he was Head of the Department of Bioengineering at Imperial College, London for 5 years, and Director of the Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Toronto for 2 years before that. He received his Ph.D. from MIT in 1986, his S.M. from MIT in 1983, his M. Math. from the University of Waterloo, Ontario, in 1982 and his B.Sc. from Queen's University, Ontario, in 1980.

Prof. Ethier's research is in the biomechanics of cells and whole organs, with specific emphasis on ocular biomechanics. His primary focus is on developing treatments for glaucoma - the second most common cause of incurable blindness with more than 80 million patients worldwide, and for myopia, which will affect more than half of all people in the world by 2050. In recognition of his work, he has received both the Steacie and Humboldt Fellowships, and the Lissner Medal from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. He is also the co-founder of an early-stage biotech company.