Dr. A SRIRAM

Dr. ROHIT SHETTY, Dr.Pooja Khamar

Abstract

Purpose: To study the epigenetic changes post- refractive surgery leading to long-term ECM remodeling.

Methods: 20 donor globes n=4-controls, SMILE & LASIK was performed on 4 globes each & incubated for 3 days & 2 weeks (n=4/group/time point). Post incubation at 370C in DMEM media stromal DNA was hybridized to an array containing 850000 CpG methylation sites from the human genome. Differentially methylated sites were identified by CpG-level p-values using FDR <0.05. Gene ontology (GO) analyses were performed. Results: A number of hypo & hyper methylated CpG sites were observed in both surgeries. Differential methylation was more at 2 weeks in both surgeries. GO analysis found MHC proteins, TCR & immunological pathways alterations. Genes exhibiting differences between the surgeries were isolated. Conclusion: We describe the first global epigenetic changes post refractive surgery which will help us in identifying novel pathways to decode and prevent ectasia in future

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