kth.sePublications KTH
System disruptions
There are recurring service disruptions on some of the search portals due to high traffic. We are working to resolve the issue, you may temporarily encounter an error message.
Change search
CiteExportLink to record
Permanent link

Direct link
Cite
Citation style
  • apa
  • ieee
  • modern-language-association-8th-edition
  • vancouver
  • Other style
More styles
Language
  • de-DE
  • en-GB
  • en-US
  • fi-FI
  • nn-NO
  • nn-NB
  • sv-SE
  • Other locale
More languages
Output format
  • html
  • text
  • asciidoc
  • rtf
Patient-derived cornea organoids as drug repurposing models for aniridia-associated keratopathy
İzmir International Biomedicine and Genome Institute, Dokuz Eylül University, 35340, İzmir, Türkiye, Turkey; İzmir Biomedicine and Genome Center, 35340, İzmir, Türkiye, Turkey.
İzmir International Biomedicine and Genome Institute, Dokuz Eylül University, 35340, İzmir, Türkiye, Turkey; İzmir Biomedicine and Genome Center, 35340, İzmir, Türkiye, Turkey.
İzmir International Biomedicine and Genome Institute, Dokuz Eylül University, 35340, İzmir, Türkiye, Turkey; İzmir Biomedicine and Genome Center, 35340, İzmir, Türkiye, Turkey.
KTH, School of Engineering Sciences in Chemistry, Biotechnology and Health (CBH), Protein Science, Systems Biology. KTH, Centres, Science for Life Laboratory, SciLifeLab. Centre for Host-Microbiome Interactions, Faculty of Dentistry, Oral & Craniofacial Sciences, King's College London, London, SE1 9RT, UK, United Kingdom.ORCID iD: 0000-0002-4254-6090
Show others and affiliations
2026 (English)In: Life Sciences, ISSN 0024-3205, E-ISSN 1879-0631, Vol. 402, article id 124586Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Aims: This study aims to investigate the efficacy of drug repurposing using a corneal organoid model developed from patient-derived iPSCs and to elucidate the pathophysiology of Aniridia-Associated Keratopathy (AAK). Materials and methods: A 90-day stepwise differentiation protocol was used to generate corneal organoids from iPSC cell lines developed from aniridia patients and healthy control. The corneal organoids produced were characterized using histology, immunofluorescence, qPCR, western blot, and transcriptomics. Two known agents, Duloxetine and Ataluren, were tested for corneal organoids for the restoring PAX6 protein expression. Key findings: Histological analyses showed that the corneal organoids had a similar architecture to the native corneal tissue. Corneal epithelial, stromal, and endothelial cell biomarker staining showed positive expressions. AAK corneal organoids exhibited features that indicate the AAK disease phenotype, such as thickening of the epithelial cell layers and decrease in expressions of PAX6, ΔNP63, and keratocan genes. An increase in PAX6 protein was observed in organoids produced from AAK1 after duloxetine treatment and in organoids produced from AAK2 following ataluren treatment. AAK3 did not respond to either agent, indicating that there was no mutation-specific drug activity. Transcriptomic analyses showed clear corneal differentiation and absence of retina or lens profile in organoids. Significance: This study presents patient-specific organoid models for AAK using iPSCs and offers insight into mutation effects and PAX6 restoration following drug repurposing. The findings form the basis of personalized treatments for congenital aniridia.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Elsevier BV , 2026. Vol. 402, article id 124586
Keywords [en]
Aniridia, Disease modeling, Drug repurposing, Organoid, PAX6, iPSC
National Category
Ophthalmology Cell and Molecular Biology Pharmaceutical Sciences Immunology in the Medical Area
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-386387DOI: 10.1016/j.lfs.2026.124586ISI: 001827919300001PubMedID: 42447954Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-105044932234OAI: oai:DiVA.org:kth-386387DiVA, id: diva2:2089103
Note

QC 20260731

Available from: 2026-07-31 Created: 2026-07-31 Last updated: 2026-07-31Bibliographically approved

Open Access in DiVA

No full text in DiVA

Other links

Publisher's full textPubMedScopus

Authority records

Mardinoglu, Adil

Search in DiVA

By author/editor
Mardinoglu, Adil
By organisation
Systems BiologyScience for Life Laboratory, SciLifeLab
In the same journal
Life Sciences
OphthalmologyCell and Molecular BiologyPharmaceutical SciencesImmunology in the Medical Area

Search outside of DiVA

GoogleGoogle Scholar

doi
pubmed
urn-nbn

Altmetric score

doi
pubmed
urn-nbn
Total: 35 hits
CiteExportLink to record
Permanent link

Direct link
Cite
Citation style
  • apa
  • ieee
  • modern-language-association-8th-edition
  • vancouver
  • Other style
More styles
Language
  • de-DE
  • en-GB
  • en-US
  • fi-FI
  • nn-NO
  • nn-NB
  • sv-SE
  • Other locale
More languages
Output format
  • html
  • text
  • asciidoc
  • rtf