PURPOSE: Healthy corneas resist colonization by virtually all microbes, yet contact lens wear can predispose the cornea to sight-threatening infection with Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Here, we explored how lens wear changes corneal epithelium transcriptional responses to P. aeruginosa and its impact on bacterial gene expression. METHODS: Male and female C57BL/6J mice were fitted with a contact lens on one eye for 24 hours. After lens removal, corneas were immediately challenged for 4 hours with P. aeruginosa. A separate group of naïve mice was similarly challenged with bacteria. Bacteria-challenged eyes were compared to uninoculated naïve controls, as was lens wear alone. Total RNA sequencing determined corneal epithelium and bacterial gene expression. RESULTS: Prior lens wear profoundly altered the corneal response to P. aeruginosa, including upregulated pattern recognition receptors (tlr3, nod1)
downregulated lectin pathway of complement activation (masp1)
amplified upregulation of tcf7, gpr55, ifi205, and wfdc2 (immune defense)
and further suppression of efemp1 (corneal stromal integrity). Without lens wear, P. aeruginosa upregulated mitochondrial and ubiquinone metabolism genes. Lens wear alone upregulated axl, grn, tcf7, and gpr55 (immune defense) and downregulated Ca2+-dependent genes necab1, snx31, and npr3. P. aeruginosa exposure to prior lens wearing versus naïve corneas upregulated bacterial genes of virulence (popD), its regulation (rsmY, PA1226), and antimicrobial resistance (arnB, oprR). CONCLUSIONS: Prior lens wear impacts corneal epithelium gene expression, altering its responses to P. aeruginosa and how P. aeruginosa responds to it favoring virulence, survival, and adaptation. Impacted genes and associated networks provide avenues for research to better understand infection pathogenesis.