Suppressors of Cytokine Signalling (SOCS) have Neuroprotective Roles in Retina

National Eye Institute

Investigators

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Abstract

In this study we have investigated the involvement of SOCS proteins in regulating ocular inflammatory diseases of infectious or autoimmune etiology. We recently showed that SOCS3 deletion in T Lymphocytes suppresses the development of chronic ocular inflammation by up-regulating CTLA-4 and inducing the expansion of regulatory T cells. In ongoing studies: (i) Successfully treated uveitis in mice by topical administration of eye drops formulated with membrane-penetrating SOCS mimetics that specifically target the Janus kinases, JAK1 and JAK2. We also showed that SOCS1 antagonists can be useful in suppressing ocular HSV-1 infection and mitigating herpetic stromal keratitis. (ii) Using transgenic rats that over-express SOCS1 in the retina and mice with targeted deletion of SOCS1 in the retina to further elucidate the role of SOCS1 and SOCS3 in ocular diseases.