# Primary Cilia of Astrocytes in Glaucoma

> **NIH NIH K99** · STANFORD UNIVERSITY · 2024 · $123,778

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
Glaucoma is a group of neurodegenerative diseases marked by the loss of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) and
their axons. It is characterized as the second leading cause of blindness in the United States with at least 3
million people affected. This number is likely to rise to 4.2 million by 2030 if no new therapeutics can be
developed. Astrocytes are recently gaining attention as therapeutic targets for neurodegeneration diseases.
They become reactive and play critical roles in glaucoma pathogenesis. Unfortunately, the underlying
mechanisms of reactive astrogliosis and its impact on RGC axons in optic neuropathies remain unclear. Primary
cilia are microtubule-based organelles on the cell surface that are known for detecting and transducing
extracellular cues to regulate cellular processes through a variety of signaling pathways such as hedgehog
signaling. Defective primary cilia are associated with numerous neurodegenerative diseases. In this project, the
candidate proposes to study cilia signaling in optic nerve astrocytes. A deeper understanding of astrocytes' role
could have significant implications for developing astrocyte-targeting therapeutics for glaucoma. The proposed
study will pursue the following aims: 1) whether primary cilia in astrocytes protect against RGC death in
experimental glaucoma mouse models; 2) the role of sonic hedgehog signaling in optic nerve astrocytes in RGC
death. Overall, insights from the study of cilia-associated sonic hedgehog signaling in astrocyte reactivity will be
applied to develop potential astrocyte-targeting treatments for glaucoma. The candidate’s overall career goal is
to understand the process of astrocytes that contribute to glaucoma and to characterize novel cilia-based targets
for neuroprotective treatments. The candidate has a deep background in primary cilia and retinal diseases and
proposes to obtain training in glaucoma because astrocytic cilia is rarely studied in the vision field. During the
K99 phase, the candidate will obtain training to increase her understanding of neuroscience research and single-
cell RNA sequencing technique. The PI will work with mentors Drs. Yang Sun and Yang Hu, together with
members of a Stanford advisory committee team. This proposal will dissect the molecular pathways underlying
reactive astrogliosis in glaucomatous optic neuropathies and develop astrocyte-targeting therapeutics for
neurodegenerative diseases.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10876965
- **Project number:** 5K99EY034932-02
- **Recipient organization:** STANFORD UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Ke Veronica Ning
- **Activity code:** K99 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $123,778
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2023-08-01 → 2025-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10876965

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10876965, Primary Cilia of Astrocytes in Glaucoma (5K99EY034932-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10876965. Licensed CC0.

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