title: Lumican promotes corneal epithelial wound healing.
abstract: Lumican regulates collagenous matrix assembly as a keratan sulfate proteoglycan in the cornea and is also present in the connective tissues of other organs and embryonic corneal stroma as a glycoprotein. In normal unwounded cornea, lumican is expressed by stromal keratocytes. Interestingly, injured mouse corneal epithelium ectopically and transiently expresses lumican during the early phase of wound healing, suggesting a potential lumican functionality unrelated to regulation of collagen fibrillogenesis, e.g., modulation of epithelial cell adhesion or migration. Healing of a corneal epithelial injury in lumican knockout (Lum(-/-)) mice was significantly delayed compared with Lum(+/-) mice. Addition of purified lumican to cultured medium promoted re-epithelialization and enhanced cell proliferation of wild-type mouse corneal epithelial cells in an organ culture. Therefore, administration of lumican may be beneficial for treating epithelial defects in the cornea and other tissues.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, College of Medicine, Edith J. Crawley Vision Research Center, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA.
authors.forename: Chia-Yang
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Winston Whei-Yang
authors.initials: WW
authors.lastname: Kao
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D011508:Chondroitin Sulfate Proteoglycans / Q000494:pharmacology*; D019573:Epithelium, Corneal / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000293:injuries / Q000378:metabolism; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D007632:Keratan Sulfate / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000071234:Lumican; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D014945:Wound Healing / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D011508:Chondroitin Sulfate Proteoglycans; C000604307:Lum protein, mouse; D000071234:Lumican; D007632:Keratan Sulfate