Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42469788›Full record

ArticleCell communication and signaling : CCS2026

The IGF2-ERK-Fos axis drives a Müller cell glial-mesenchymal transition-like response to disrupt retinal homeostasis in early myopia.

Jiaojiao Feng, Xiaoqi Gong, Yibo Han, Yunxiao Xie, Anfeng Luo, Hongtao Li, Wei Zhang, Jing Li, Xiaoyun Dong, Shuhan Li and 3 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Cell communication and signaling : CCS, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors.

Jiaojiao Feng *The First Clinical Medical College, Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, China.
Xiaoqi Gong *College of Ophthalmology and Optometry, Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, China.
Yibo Han *College of Ophthalmology and Optometry, Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, China.
Yunxiao XieAffiliated Eye Hospital of Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, China.
Anfeng LuoDepartment of Immunology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Beijing Key Laboratory for Tumor Invasion and Metastasis, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
Hongtao LiInstitute of Brain Science and Brain-inspired Research, Shandong First Medical University & Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Jinan, China.
Wei ZhangInstitute of Clinical Pharmacology, Hunan Key Laboratory of Pharmacogenetics, Central South University, Changsha, China.
Jing LiCollege of Ophthalmology and Optometry, Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, China.
Xiaoyun DongCollege of Ophthalmology and Optometry, Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, China.
Shuhan LiCollege of Ophthalmology and Optometry, Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, China.
Han YuThe First Clinical Medical College, Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, China.
Jike SongThe First Clinical Medical College, Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, China. edusjk@163.com.
Hongsheng BiThe First Clinical Medical College, Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, China. hongshengbi1@163.com.

Funding

Joint TCM Science & Technology Projects of National Demonstration Zones for Comprehensive TCM Reform GZY-KJS-SD-2024-099Shandong Provincial Key Research and Development Program 2025CXPT142Shandong Provincial Medical and Health Science and Technology Project 202307021729the 2024 Clinical Research Special Project of Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine LCKY202431the 2025 Innovation Project for Doctoral Students of Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine YJSTZCX2025039the Scientific Research Fund Project of Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine KYZK2024M06
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Myopia is increasingly recognized as a complex pathology involving retinal remodeling, yet the cellular mechanisms linking early visual stress to this process remain unclear. This study investigated whether Müller glial (MG) cells undergo a glial-mesenchymal transition (GMT)-like response in early myopia and identified the upstream signaling axis driving this transformation. We integrated single-cell and spatial transcriptomic analyses to construct a high-resolution atlas of retinal cell heterogeneity in a guinea pig model of form-deprivation myopia (FDM). Single-cell analysis revealed an expanded MG population (18.9% vs. 6.9%) and identified a disease-enriched Fos⁺ MG subcluster exhibiting a transcriptional signature of GMT and activated extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling. IGF2 signaling was elevated in myopic MG cells and correlated with ERK/Fos activation. In vivo siIGF2 attenuated myopia progression, preserved retinal function/structure, suppressed MG activation/proliferation and GMT/ECM marker expression, and reduced inner limiting membrane abnormalities and retinal stiffening. Conversely, in vitro, rhIGF2 activated the ERK/Fos pathway, promoting proliferation, migration, GMT-like response, and collagen synthesis in MIO-M1 cells. These findings demonstrate that early myopia involves Fos⁺ MG-driven retinal remodeling via GMT-like response, coupling visual stress to ECM and mechanical changes. The IGF2-ERK-Fos axis is a key upstream driver of this pathology, presenting a novel target for intervention to preserve retinal homeostasis.

Indexed as

Ependymoglial CellsExtracellular Signal-Regulated MAP KinasesHomeostasisInsulin-Like Growth Factor IIMyopiaProto-Oncogene Proteins c-fosRetinaAnimalsCell ProliferationGuinea PigsSignal TransductionExtracellular Signal-Regulated MAP KinasesInsulin-Like Growth Factor IIProto-Oncogene Proteins c-fosGlial-mesenchymal transitionIGF2–ERK–Fos signalingMüller glial cellMyopiaRetinal homeostasisRetinal remodeling

Identifiers

PMID42469788
PMCPMC13660327

What OpenQuestion holds

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Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.