Evidence mapPaperPMID 41400313Full record

ArticleInvestigative ophthalmology & visual science2025

Stress-Induced Disruption of Circadian and Neuroimmune Networks in Lacrimal Glands Drives Dry Eye Pathogenesis.

Mengru Ba, Duliurui Huang, Tingting Yang, Shuting Xuan, Wenxiao Zhang, Di Qi, Xiaoting Pei, Dingli Lu, Shenzhen Huang, Jingwen Yang and 2 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Investigative ophthalmology & visual science, 2025. 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

12 authors.

Mengru BaDepartment of Ophthalmology, People's Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Henan Provincial People's Hospital, Henan, Zhengzhou, China.
Duliurui HuangDepartment of Ophthalmology, People's Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Henan Provincial People's Hospital, Henan, Zhengzhou, China.
Tingting YangDepartment of Ophthalmology, People's Hospital of Henan University, Henan Provincial People's Hospital, Henan, Zhengzhou, China.
Shuting XuanDepartment of Ophthalmology, People's Hospital of Henan University, Henan Provincial People's Hospital, Henan, Zhengzhou, China.
Wenxiao ZhangDepartment of Ophthalmology, People's Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Henan Provincial People's Hospital, Henan, Zhengzhou, China.
Di QiHenan Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology & Visual Science, Department of Ophthalmology, People's Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Henan Provincial People's Hospital, Zhengzhou, China.
Xiaoting PeiHenan Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology & Visual Science, Department of Ophthalmology, People's Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Henan Provincial People's Hospital, Zhengzhou, China.
Dingli LuHenan Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology & Visual Science, Department of Ophthalmology, People's Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Henan Provincial People's Hospital, Zhengzhou, China.
Shenzhen HuangHenan Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology & Visual Science, Department of Ophthalmology, People's Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Henan Provincial People's Hospital, Zhengzhou, China.
Jingwen YangHenan Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology & Visual Science, Department of Ophthalmology, People's Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Henan Provincial People's Hospital, Zhengzhou, China.
Xiaohui LiuThe First Clinical School of Medicine, Zhengzhou University, Henan, Zhengzhou, China.
Zhijie LiDepartment of Ophthalmology, People's Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Henan Provincial People's Hospital, Henan, Zhengzhou, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Purpose: Chronic psychological stress is an important but poorly defined risk factor for dry eye disease. This study investigated how sustained stress alters circadian regulation in the lacrimal gland (LG) and the role of neuroendocrine signaling in stress-induced dry eye disease. Methods: Male C57BL/6J mice underwent two weeks of daily restraint stress with or without β-adrenergic blockade or glucocorticoid synthesis inhibition. Tear secretion was assessed by pilocarpine-stimulated phenol red thread test. LGs were collected every three hours across 24 hours for bulk RNA sequencing, and rhythmicity was analyzed with Jonckheere-Terpstra-Kendall cycle (JTK_CYCLE) algorithm. Single-cell RNA sequencing at zeitgeber time 6 mapped stress hormone receptor expression across LG cell types. Histology, immunohistochemistry, and plasma hormone assays characterized structural, immune, metabolic, and neural changes. Results: Stress reduced tear secretion, altered LG morphology, and activated sympathetic and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. Transcriptomic profiling showed a marked loss of rhythmic gene expression in immune, metabolic, neural, and proliferative pathways, whereas core clock oscillators remained intact, defining circadian output decoupling. This was associated with disrupted diurnal immune trafficking, reduced neuronal activity, impaired metabolism, and diminished proliferation. Single-cell analysis revealed β-adrenergic and glucocorticoid receptor expression in epithelial, endothelial, and immune populations. Propranolol or metyrapone partially restored rhythmic transcription, glandular architecture, and tear secretion. Conclusions: Chronic stress induces circadian output decoupling in the lacrimal gland, driving neuroimmune and metabolic dysfunction and dry eye disease pathogenesis. Partial rescue by β-adrenergic and glucocorticoid pathway inhibition highlights neuroendocrine signaling as a therapeutic target and establishes the LG as a peripheral model of stress-induced circadian disruption.

Indexed as

Dry Eye SyndromesLacrimal ApparatusAdrenergic beta-AgonistsAnimalsAntimetabolitesCircadian RhythmGene Expression ProfilingHumansHypothalamo-Hypophyseal SystemMaleMetyraponeMiceMice, Inbred C57BLNeuroimmunomodulationPropranololSignal TransductionAdrenergic beta-AgonistsAntimetabolitesMetyraponePropranolol

Identifiers

PMID41400313
PMCPMC12720191

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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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 Socratic graph.