# Novel Therapies for Ocular Chemical Injuries

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT CHICAGO · 2020 · $124,999

## Abstract

Abstract
Ocular surface and cornea injuries from exposure to sulfur mustard are one of the main causes
of its morbidities. A critical limitation of our current treatment regimens is the inability to promote
repair of the cornea during the acute phase and to prevent the long-term complications after
sulfur mustard. Therefore, more effective therapies are needed to promote repair of the cornea
while also preventing the secondary complications such as fibrosis and neovascularization
which lead to significant loss of vision. The main focus of the parent award (Mechanisms of
Corneal Epithelial Disease and Repair) is to develop novel therapies to repair the corneal
epithelium in pathologic states. This administrative supplement will allow us to expand our
current studies in response to the NIH Countermeasures Against Chemical Threats
(CounterACT) program to devleop novel therapeutics that can promote corneal repair and
prevent/treat the severe corneal complications from exposure to the chemical warfare agent
sulfur mustard. Our proposed therapeutics are specifically built around Mesenchymal
Stem/Stromal cells (MSCs) and their secreted factors. As part of the studies supported by the
parent award, we have been investigating MSCs and have found that they have significant
therapeutic potential for promoting corneal repair. MSCs have been shown to possess potent
therapeutic effects in other models of ocular surface injury, including enhancing survival,
preventing inflammation, scarring and neovascularization of the cornea. Our central hypothesis
is that MSCs via their secreted factors can mitigate the ocular surface damage from vesicant
agents by enhancing cell survival and further preventing secondary corneal complications. We
will pursue the following two specific aims: Aim 1: Determine the effect of Mesenchymal
Stromal Cell (MSCs) secreted factors on the immediate cytotoxic effects in the cornea following
exposure to nitrogen mustard in vitro and ex vivo. Aim 2. Investigate the effect of MSCs and
MSC secreted factors on preventing the delayed pathologic responses in the cornea following
chemical nitrogen mustard injury in vivo. These studies will facilitate the development of novel
MSC-based therapies to prevent the immediate and chronic pathologic changes in the cornea
following sulfur mustard injury.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10136887
- **Project number:** 3R01EY024349-05S1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT CHICAGO
- **Principal Investigator:** ALI R DJALILIAN
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $124,999
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2020-09-30 → 2021-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10136887

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10136887, Novel Therapies for Ocular Chemical Injuries (3R01EY024349-05S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-29 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10136887. Licensed CC0.

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