Ocular surface epithelium healing via growth factors and nutrients present in human serum

This "target" does not refer to a single molecule or receptor but rather to the therapeutic approach of promoting ocular surface epithelium healing using the diverse array of growth factors and nutrients naturally present in human blood-derived products—most commonly autologous serum or platelet-rich plasma formulated as topical eye drops. These preparations contain many components found in natural tears—including EGF, TGF-beta, PDGF, NGF, IGF‑1—as well as vitamins A/E and other proteins that collectively stimulate cell proliferation/migration/differentiation while reducing inflammation on the damaged ocular surface. This strategy is used clinically to treat dry eye disease unresponsive to conventional therapy as well as persistent epithelial defects due to trauma or surgery. The mechanism involves mimicking natural tear composition while providing additional regenerative signals that facilitate wound closure and restore tissue integrity. However, this entry does not represent a discrete drug target but rather an entire class of biological mediators delivered together; thus it should not be considered a canonical molecular target. "AS contains numerous substances that also exist in normal tears... As such AS not only serves lubricating and antiinflammatory functions but it also has regenerative properties for healing the ocular surface." "The repair mechanism for corneal epithelial cell injuries encompasses migration proliferation... In recent years... it has become increasingly apparent that growth factors play a pivotal role..."

Other names

Human serum-derived ocular surface healingSerum eye drops-mediated epithelial repairGrowth factor-mediated corneal epithelial healingAutologous serum therapy for ocular surface

The therapeutic effect is mediated by the combined action of multiple growth factors and nutrients present in human serum. These include epidermal growth factor (EGF), transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta), platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), nerve growth factor (NGF), insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF‑1), substance P, fibronectin, vitamins A/E. They promote epithelial cell migration, proliferation, differentiation, extracellular matrix remodeling, anti-inflammatory effects, and support for corneal nerves through activation of their respective receptors and downstream signaling pathways such as EGFR/PI3K/Akt/ERK/NF-kB.