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  3. Blue light pollution induces dry eye by damaging conjunctival stem cells through cAMP-PKA-Pax6 signaling pathway

Blue light pollution induces dry eye by damaging conjunctival stem cells through cAMP-PKA-Pax6 signaling pathway

  • Ecotoxicol Environ Saf. 2025 Sep 15:303:118984. doi: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2025.118984.
Lingyu Zhang 1,  Minjie Zhang 2,  Meiqin Zhong 3,  Pei Zhang 4,  Huiran Yang 4,  Yiwen Qian 4,  Zhiliang Wang 5,  Qingjian Li 6
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Tianjin Key Laboratory of Retinal Functions and Diseases, Tianjin Branch of National Clinical Research Center for Ocular Disease, Eye Institute and School of Optometry, Tianjin Medical University Eye Hospital, Tianjin 300380, China.
  • 2 Department of Eye, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian 361005, China.
  • 3 Department of Ophthalmology, Xiang'an Hospital of Xiamen University, Eye Institute of Xiamen University, Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Fujian Engineering and Research Center of Eye Regenerative Medicine, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian 361005, China.
  • 4 Department of Ophthalmology, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai 200040, China.
  • 5 Department of Ophthalmology, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai 200040, China. Electronic address: ophwzl@163.com.
  • 6 Department of Ophthalmology, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai 200040, China. Electronic address: liqingjianvip@163.com.
PMID: 40912100 DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2025.118984
Abstract

Purpose: Blue light exposure constitutes a risk factor for dry eye. The research explores the influence of conjunctival stem cells (CjSCs) by blue light, elucidating the pathogenesis of blue light-induced dry eye.

Materials and methods: Primary SD rat CjSCs and rats were irradiated with blue light at 460 nm. The impact of blue light illumination on both CjSCs and rats was examined, and RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) identified the specific mechanisms. Additionally, blue light-irradiated rats and primary CjSCs were treated with Forskolin to validate the effects of the cAMP-PKA pathway on CjSCs differentiation and blue light-induced dry eye.

Results: Blue light exposure not only affected the stemness and proliferation of CjSCs, but also disturbed the differentiation by down-regulating the expression of Pax6. Mechanically, the cAMP-PKA signaling pathway was significantly inhibited following blue light emission. Reduced P-PKA expression affected Pax6 transcription, which in turn promoted abnormal differentiation of CjSCs. Moreover, Forskolin, a specific agonist of cAMP-PKA, effectively rescued the drawback of blue light irradiation on CjSCs.

Conclusions: Blue light exposure results in abnormal differentiation in CjSCs through the down-regulation of the expression of Pax6 via the cAMP-PKA signaling pathway. The abnormal differentiation in CjSCs should be pursued as a novel target for protection against blue light-induced dry eye.

Keywords

Abnormal differentiation; Blue light; Conjunctival stem cells; Dry eye; Pax6; cAMP-PKA pathway.

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