Role of Fibronectin in Primary Open Angle Glaucoma.

PubMed ID: 31779192

Author(s): Faralli JA, Filla MS, Peters DM. Role of fibronectin in primary open angle glaucoma. Cells. 2019 Nov 26;8(12). pii: E1518. doi: 10.3390/cells8121518. Review. PMID 31779192

Journal: Cells, Volume 8, Issue 12, Nov 2019

Primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) is the most common form of glaucoma and the 2nd most common cause of irreversible vision loss in the United States. Nearly 67 million people have the disease worldwide including >3 million in the United States. A major risk factor for POAG is an elevation in intraocular pressure (IOP). The increase in IOP is believed to be caused by an increase in the deposition of extracellular matrix proteins, in particular fibronectin, in a region of the eye known as the trabecular meshwork (TM). How fibronectin contributes to the increase in IOP is not well understood. The increased density of fibronectin fibrils is thought to increase IOP by altering the compliance of the trabecular meshwork. Recent studies, however, also suggest that the composition and organization of fibronectin fibrils would affect IOP by changing the cell-matrix signaling events that control the functional properties of the cells in the trabecular meshwork. In this article, we will discuss how changes in the properties of fibronectin and fibronectin fibrils could contribute to the regulation of IOP.