Glaucoma is a leading cause of irreversible blindness, normally associated with dysfunction and degeneration of the trabecular meshwork (TM) as the primary cause. Trabecular meshwork stem cells (TMSCs) have emerged as promising candidates for TM regeneration toward glaucoma therapies, yet their molecular characteristics remain poorly defined. In this study, we performed a comprehensive transcriptomic comparison of human TMSCs and human TM cells (TMCs) using RNA sequencing and microarray analyses, followed by qPCR validation. A total of 465 differentially expressed genes were identified, with 254 upregulated in TMSCs and 211 in TMCs. A functional enrichment analysis revealed that TMSCs are associated with development, immune signaling, and extracellular matrix remodeling pathways, while TMCs are enriched in structural, contractile, and adhesion-related functions. A network topology analysis identified CXCL3, CXCL6, and BMP2 as robust TMSC-specific hub genes, and LMOD1 and BGN as TMC-specific markers, with expression patterns confirmed by qPCR. These findings define distinct molecular signatures of TMSCs and TMCs, providing reliable biomarkers for cell identity and a foundation for future stem cell-based therapies targeting TM dysfunction in glaucoma.
基金:
University of South Florida startup; University of South Florida
第一作者机构:[1]Capital Med Univ, Beijing Tongren Hosp, Beijing Inst Ophthalmol, Beijing Tongren Eye Ctr,Beijing Key Lab Intelligen, Beijing 100730, Peoples R China[2]Univ S Florida, Morsani Coll Med, Dept Ophthalmol, Tampa, FL 33612 USA
通讯作者:
推荐引用方式(GB/T 7714):
Du Rong,Kumar Ajay,Yang Enzhi,et al.Transcriptomic Differences Between Human Trabecular Meshwork Stem Cells and Trabecular Meshwork Cells Reveal Specific Biomarker Profiles[J].CURRENT ISSUES IN MOLECULAR BIOLOGY.2025,47(7):doi:10.3390/cimb47070514.
APA:
Du, Rong,Kumar, Ajay,Yang, Enzhi,Zhang, Jingxue,Wang, Ningli&Du, Yiqin.(2025).Transcriptomic Differences Between Human Trabecular Meshwork Stem Cells and Trabecular Meshwork Cells Reveal Specific Biomarker Profiles.CURRENT ISSUES IN MOLECULAR BIOLOGY,47,(7)
MLA:
Du, Rong,et al."Transcriptomic Differences Between Human Trabecular Meshwork Stem Cells and Trabecular Meshwork Cells Reveal Specific Biomarker Profiles".CURRENT ISSUES IN MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 47..7(2025)