Trehalose extricates impaired mitochondrial and autophagy dysregulation in patient iPSC-derived macular corneal dystrophy disease model

• Patient-derived iPSC model of macular corneal dystrophy recapitulates disease-specific mitochondrial and autophagy impairments in corneal stromal keratocytes. • Trehalose treatment restores autophagic flux and mitochondrial membrane potential, reducing protein aggregates in MCD-iCSKs. • This study provides a human-relevant platform for mechanistic studies and drug screening for MCD. • Trehalose emerges as a potential non-surgical therapeutic candidate for managing macular corneal dystrophy.