Researchers at Cardiff University and First Affiliated Hospital of the Fourth Military Medical University of Shaanxi, China investigated the mechanisms by which excessive adipogenesis and extracellular matrix production, namely in the form of hyaluronan acid (HA), expand orbital contents in Graves’ Orbitopathy (GO) patients. Currently, GO patients are treated with immunosuppressive and anti-inflammatory therapies that are largely ineffective. This study examined FOXOs and how their involvement in the PI3K pathway might be studied in order to uncover non-immunosuppressive therapy targets. Preadipocytes/fibroblasts (PFs) were used to study the outcomes when FOXO expression was enhanced and inhibited. The Cellometer Auto T4 and Trypan Blue were used to verify cell numbers during the experiment. Increased or inhibited FOXO expression directly affected downstream HAS2/HA expression, a known contributor to GO pathogenesis. Enhancing FOXOs reduced GO-associated adipogenesis, thereby providing a novel method to address expanding orbital contents in these patients.

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