This technology is an in vitro mechanobiological assay to assess potential drug candidates for glaucoma.
Glaucoma is the leading cause of permanent blindness if not treated. It is typically linked to high intraocular pressure (IOP), which occurs when the drainage of aqueous humor is disrupted. As it drains from the eye, aqueous humor flows into a part of the eye called Schlemm’s canal (SC). Under normal conditions, the aqueous humor flows into this canal through tiny pores in the inner wall of SC. Changes in mechanical forces with changing IOP control pore formation. Agents that can influence the formation of these pores may provide a way to control IOP. However, developing such treatments has been challenging due to the lack of reliable systems for testing potential drugs. Drug discovery for glaucoma currently relies heavily on animal models, which are costly, laborious, and time-intensive.
This technology is an in vitro mechanobiological assay to assess pore formation in primary Schlemm’s canal (SC) inner wall cells. This assay uses patient-derived primary SC cells with low pore formation as the baseline and quantifies the pore formation before and after treatment with drug compounds. Magnetic beads are used to apply mechanical forces to the cells that promote pore formation and facilitate the testing of drugs that enhance pore formation. Tracers are added to enable imaging-based quantification of pores. This assay can be used for high-throughput screening of compounds that promote pore formation and increase the permeability of SC cells, potentially lowering intraocular pressure in glaucoma patients.
Patent Pending (US20240399360)
IR CU23377
Licensing Contact: Kristin Neuman
