PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Fibrotic-like dysfunction and extracellular matrix stiffening of the trabecular meshwork (TM) is a hallmark of persistent intraocular pressure elevation in primary open-angle glaucoma. Short-term exposure of healthy TM cells to mechanical insult induces characteristic glaucoma-like pathology, which is recoverable after cessation of insult. In contrast, glaucomatous TM cells retain a pathologic phenotype via a stored mechanical memory despite culture within a soft tissue-like matrix environment. The overall objective of this proposal is to identify how mechanical memory in TM cells is first formed and then stored, and how it contributes to the persistence of glaucomatous cellular dysfunction. We hypothesize that TM cell mechanical memory plays a central role in persistent tissue failure in glaucoma. In Aim 1, we will fully characterize TM cell mechanical memory. Cells “sense” their mechanical environment through mechanotransduction. In Aim 2, we will investigate the role of a key mechanoregulatory transcriptional co-activator Yes-associated protein (YAP) in modulating TM cell mechanical memory. Cells “store” mechanical memory through chromatin remodeling and epigenetic modifications. In Aim 3, we will investigate the role of epigenetic modifications in long-term TM cell mechanical memory retention. We will use our innovative bioengineered primary human TM cell-encapsulated hydrogel and dynamically tune matrix stiffness to test our hypothesis. Our specific aims are: Aim 1: To determine how mechanical memory persistence contributes to glaucomatous TM cell dysfunction. Aim 2: To determine how YAP mechanotransduction contributes to TM cell mechanical memory acquisition and retention. Aim 3: To determine how epigenetic modifications contribute to long-term TM cell mechanical memory retention.

PROJECT NARRATIVE Progressive trabecular meshwork stiffening contributes to persistent intraocular pressure elevation in primary open-angle glaucoma. This work seeks to understand how trabecular meshwork cells retain a memory of their past environments, and how this impacts their future behavior. Understanding the mechanisms that control the persistence of trabecular meshwork dysfunction will help find new therapies to treat this blinding disease.