FIGURE 1.

A schematic diagram illustrating the early intervention therapy to re-route the wound healing and scarring response. A continuous spectrum of micro-niches (circles) that represent molecular and phenotypic events that constantly changes over time after injury. The route passes through these processes and the final phenotypic outcome is dependent upon the micro-niches in which resident and infiltrating cells are interacting with the extracellular regions. In adult tissue, upon injury, the normal transition through these sequential micro-niches usually ends up in scar formation (dark line). In corneas, this will block the light passage and results in vision loss. Medications modulating minor pathways could alter the micro-niches, but still results in similar phenotypic outcome of scar formation (blue line). Intervention at early time after wounding could alter the wound microenvironment and produce a “re-routing” through a different series of processes that could result in scar improvement or scar-free healing, and regeneration of native tissues (yellow line). This can improve the corneal clarity and restore vision.