The study, published in eLife, provides what the editors say are fundamental findings, highlighting a potential therapeutic strategy for preventing or slowing the development of glaucoma.

Glaucoma, a group of eye diseases that damage the optic nerve, is a leading cause of irreversible blindness that affects 80 million people worldwide as of 2020. One of the main risk factors is high intraocular pressure, which often results from dysfunction in the trabecular meshwork—a porous tissue that helps maintain normal eye pressure by allowing fluid to drain from the eye. The trabecular meshwork is located in the limbal region, which forms the border between the cornea (the clear outer layer of the eye) and the sclera (the white of the eye).