Due to abnormalities in ECM protein composition and structure in FECD, the stiffness of DM in Col8a2 knock-in mice and wildtype (WT) controls was measured using atomic force microscopy at 5 and 10 months of age, coinciding with the onset of FECD phenotypic abnormalities.
To investigate the endothelial gene expression profile in a Col8a2Q455K mutant knock-in mouse model of early-onset Fuchs' endothelial corneal dystrophy (FECD) and identify potential targets that can be correlated to human late-onset FECD.