FoxC1: The Reason Why Humans Can See Clearly

A gene was identified and its major role was determined to be maintaining clarity of the cornea in mice and humans. Tsutomu Kume, professor at Northwestern University, says that this gene prevents blood vessels from forming and protects the cornea. Using mice without the FoxC1 gene, Kume found vascular formations in the corneas that were blocking light. Professor Lehmann found that his patients with a mutated FoxC1 gene also had this vascular growth in their eyes similar to Kume’s mice. These findings provide a potential path to be explored that could lead to treatment of multiple eye disorders. Now, Kume is planning on doing gene therapy for the mice to see if injecting FoxC1 slows down the vascular growth in the eyes.