Development of a Microarray Chip for Glaucoma Studies in Dog and Rabbit Model

This project is supported by University of Florida 2003 Research Opportunity Fund. We are also actively seeking external funding from government and industrial agencies.

Our long term goals are to discover the molecular basis of POAG (Primary Open Angle Glaucoma). This information may form the basis for new therapies that selectively target the genes that contribute to POAG and that contribute to scarring of filtering surgery. To accomplish these goals we propose two specific aims.
  1. Design and manufacture a custom microarray chip containing around 8,000 canine ophthalmic genes. Construction of these chips will allow researchers in the Departments of Ophthalmology, The Institute for Wound Research at the College of Medicine, the Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences at the College of Veterinary Medicine and the Interdisciplinary Center for Biotechnology Research to take advantage of the Beagle model of POAG. Further, we plan to include around 4,000 rabbit ophthalmic genes so that this chip can also be used to study molecular basis for the failure of glaucoma filtration surgery in the rabbit model. Rabbit models of glaucoma, wound healing and corneal disease, which might benefit from this technology are currently being investigated at University of Florida. Since rabbits are a commonly used model in ophthalmology, chips might also be supplied to researchers outside the University, fostering collaboration and further cementing University of Florida's position of prominence in the field of ophthalmologic research. In addition, this chip will also contain around 4,000 rhesus monkey ophthalmic genes to facilitate ophthalmologic research using the monkey model.

  2. Compare patterns of gene expression in ocular tissues from a unique Beagle dog model of spontaneous POAG with normal Beagles using the custom chip to test existing hypotheses, formulate new theories based on the patterns of gene expression and identify diagnostic markers and putative targets for treatment. Gene expression patterns will also be used to set a base line against which perturbations induced by pharmaceutical agents can be determined. The preliminary data which are generated will be used in grants to solicit funding from the National Eye Institute, various pharmaceutical companies and other private sources.