The denervated mice showed spontaneous corneal epithelial detachment and cell apoptosis accompanied with impaired epithelial NAD+ contents due to low levels of NAMPT. Similarly, inhibition of NAMPT recapitulated epithelial detachment as in denervated mice and induced apoptosis in cultured corneal epithelial cells. The replenishment of NMN or NAD+ partially slowed down corneal nerve fiber degeneration, reduced the epithelial defect in denervated mice, and improved apoptosis induction in FK866-treated cells by restoring the activation levels of SIRT1, AKT, and CREB. Corneal denervation lowered epithelial NAD+ contents through reducing the expression of NAMPT and caused cell apoptosis and epithelial defects, suggesting that corneal innervations contribute to epithelial homeostasis by regulating NAD+ biosynthesis....The results suggest that NAD replenishment is a potential treatment to prevent both epithelial shedding and the compromise of corneal function that results from the declines in epithelial innervations.