# The role of iron in retinal degeneration during bacterial infection

> **NIH NIH F31** · UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA · 2024 · $48,974

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
 When bacteria invade the eye, the resulting damage is rapid and irreversible. This type of infection, called
endophthalmitis, is the most severe complication of intraocular surgery. Patient outcome is heavily dependent
on the pathogenicity of the bacteria, its susceptibility to antibiotics, and the extent of inflammation. These
factors can influence progression to the worst-case scenario, where the infected eye must be completely
removed. Even in milder cases, some amount of permanent vision loss is common. Therefore, there is need
for a treatment which targets both contributors to vision loss: bacterial growth and neurotoxic inflammation. All
bacteria require iron for survival and proliferation. During infection, they must obtain iron from host tissues. In
response, host cells will import iron to shield it from bacteria, initiating a competition for iron acquisition.
However, iron accumulation within immune cells can promote inflammation. In animal models of diverse
infections and diseases, iron chelation is both anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory. My preliminary ex vivo
data suggests that iron chelation inhibits bacterial growth in vitreous (fluid from within the eye), and that acute
iron chelation is nontoxic to the retina. Aim 1 will expand on these results to determine the effectiveness of an
iron chelator at preventing endophthalmitis in mice. I will examine the extent to which bacterial growth is
inhibited and retinal structure is preserved over time. Although reducing bacteria would naturally reduce
inflammation, the direct anti-inflammatory contribution of iron chelation would be unclear. Therefore, Aim 2 will
investigate the link between iron accumulation and retinal inflammation. Using the murine endophthalmitis
model, I will examine iron levels within retinal macrophages/microglia, and to what extent an iron chelator
reduces retinal inflammation. The result will determine the anti-inflammatory potential of iron chelation
treatment for endophthalmitis. The overall goal of this proposal is to prevent vision loss caused by bacterial
infection.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10884871
- **Project number:** 5F31EY035141-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
- **Principal Investigator:** Sierra Foshe
- **Activity code:** F31 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $48,974
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2023-07-01 → 2027-02-19

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10884871

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10884871, The role of iron in retinal degeneration during bacterial infection (5F31EY035141-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10884871. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*