Insulin Promotes Corneal Nerve Repair and Wound Healing in Type 1 Diabetic Mice by Enhancing Wnt/β-Catenin Signaling

The document reports on a study that demonstrated insulin's role in enhancing corneal nerve repair and wound healing in Type 1 diabetic mice, mediated by the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. Insulin was found to promote corneal epithelial wound healing and sensation recovery, as well as upregulate the expression of Wnt/β-catenin pathway molecules. The use of a Wnt pathway inhibitor (XAV-939) reduced the reparative effects of insulin, while a Wnt pathway activator (BML-284) further promoted healing. The study included both in vitro and in vivo experiments, with the in vitro experiments using cultured cells and the in vivo assessments conducted on diabetic mice. The findings suggest that insulin could be a potential protective factor for diabetic corneal epithelial wounds and nerve injury through its interaction with the Wnt signaling pathway. The number of samples in the assays ranged from 3 to 5, and the results were considered statistically significant with p-values less than 0.05, 0.01, and 0.001.