A Nerve-Dependent NGF Receptor Switch Controls Corneal Epithelial Renewal In Neurotrophic Keratopathy
Arif Hussain, Kiana Tajdaran, Ramkumar Katturajan, Kaveh Mirmoeini, Jordan R. Crabtree, Alaa Ibrahim Quddam, Xiangbing Wu, Noam Blum, Daniel J. Konig, Jay S. Pepose, Asim Ali, Ruby Shalom‐Feuerstein, Tessa Gordon, David R. Kaplan, Gregory Howard Borschel, Konstantin Feinberg
The paper shows that denervation shifts NGF receptor signaling in corneal epithelial stem cells from TrkA-AKT to p75NTR-JNK, explaining limited rhNGF efficacy in neurotrophic keratopathy and suggesting receptor-selective modulation as a therapy.
bioRxiv · Jul 1, 2026 · PreprintCell Biology