Stiffness-dependent dynamic effect of inflammation on keratocyte phenotype and differentiation.

Although extensive studies have evaluated the regulation effect of microenvironment on cell phenotype and cell differentiation, further investigations in the field of the cornea are needed to gain sufficient knowledge for possible clinical translation. This study aims to evaluate the regulation effects of substrate stiffness and inflammation on keratocyte phenotype of corneal fibroblasts, as well as the differentiation from stem cells towards keratocytes. Soft and stiff substrates were prepared based on polydimethylsiloxane. HTK and stem cells were cultured on these substrates to evaluate the effects of stiffness. The possible synergistic effects between substrate stiffness and inflammatory factor IL-1ßwere examined by qPCR and immunofluorescence staining. In addition, macrophages were cultured on soft and stiff substrates to evaluate the effect of substrate stiffness on the synthesis of inflammatory factors. The conditioned medium of macrophages (Soft-CM and Stiff-CM) was collected to examine the effects on HTK and stem cells. It was found that inflammatory factor IL-1ßpromoted keratocyte phenotype and differentiation when cells were cultured on soft substrate (∼130 kPa), which were different from cells cultured on stiff substrate (∼2 × 103kPa) and TCP (∼106kPa). Besides, macrophages cultured on stiff substrates had significantly higher expression ofIL-1ßandTnf-αas compared to the cells cultured on soft substrates. And Stiff-CM decreased the expression of keratocyte phenotype markers as compared to Soft-CM. The results of our study indicate a stiffness-dependent dynamic effect of inflammation on keratocyte phenotype and differentiation, which is of significance not only in gaining a deeper knowledge of corneal pathology and repair, but also in being instructive for scaffold design in corneal tissue engineering and ultimate regeneration.

Hydroxycamptothecin and Substratum Stiffness Synergistically Regulate Fibrosis of Human Corneal Fibroblasts.

Corneal fibrosis is a common outcome of inappropriate repair associated with trauma or ocular infection. Altered biomechanical properties with increased corneal stiffness is a feature of fibrosis that cause corneal opacities, resulting in severe visual impairment and even blindness. The present study aims to determine the effect of hydroxycamptothecin (HCPT) and matrix stiffness on transforming growth factor-ß1 (TGF-ß1)-induced fibrotic processes in human corneal fibroblasts (HTK cells). HTK cells were cultured on substrates with different stiffnesses ("soft", ∼261 kPa; "stiff", ∼2.5 × 103 kPa) and on tissue culture plastic (TCP, ∼106 kPa) and simultaneously treated with or without 1 µg/mL HCPT and 10 ng/mL TGF-ß1. We found that HCPT induced decreased cell viability and antiproliferative effects on HTK cells. TGF-ß1-induced expression of fibrosis-related genes (FN1, ACTA2) was reduced if the cells were simultaneously treated with HCPT. Substrate stiffness did not affect the expression of fibrosis-related genes. The TGF-ß1 induced expression of FN1 on both soft and stiff substrates was reduced if cells were simultaneously treated with HCPT. However, this trend was not seen for ACTA2, i.e., the TGF-ß1 induced expression of ACTA2 was not reduced by simultaneous treatment of HCPT in either soft or stiff substrate. Instead, HCPT treatment in the presence of TGF-ß1 resulted in increased gene expression of keratocyte phenotype makers (LUM, KERA, AQP1, CHTS6) on both substrate stiffnesses. In addition, the protein expression of keratocyte phenotype makers LUM and ALDH3 was increased in HTK cells simultaneously treated with TGF-ß1 and HCPT on stiff substrate as compared to control, i.e., without HCPT. In conclusion, we found that HCPT can reduce TGF-ß1-induced fibrosis and promote the keratocyte phenotype in a substrate stiffness dependent manner. Thus, HCPT stimulation might be an approach to stimulate keratocytes in the appropriate healing stage to avoid or reverse fibrosis and achieve more optimal corneal wound healing.