Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma in Individuals of African Descent: A Review of Risk Factors.

Objective: To identify the major risk factors for primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) in individuals of African descent.

Methods: We searched PubMed for relevant articles, with results spanning April 1947 to present. All abstracts were reviewed and, where relevant to POAG and race, articles were catalogued and analyzed.

Systematic screen of Schizosaccharomyces pombe deletion collection uncovers parallel evolution of the phosphate signal transduction pathway in yeasts.

The phosphate signal transduction (PHO) pathway, which regulates genes in response to phosphate starvation, is well defined in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We asked whether the PHO pathway was the same in the distantly related fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe. We screened a deletion collection for mutants aberrant in phosphatase activity, which is primarily a consequence of pho1(+) transcription.

Advanced glycation end products on stored red blood cells increase endothelial reactive oxygen species generation through interaction with receptor for advanced glycation end products.

Background: Recent evidence suggests that storage-induced alterations of the red blood cell (RBC) are associated with adverse consequences in susceptible hosts. As RBCs have been shown to form advanced glycation end products (AGEs) after increased oxidative stress and under pathologic conditions, we examined whether stored RBCs undergo modification with the specific AGE N-(carboxymethyl)lysine (N(ε) -CML) during standard blood banking conditions.

Study Design And Methods: Purified, fresh RBCs from volunteers were compared to stored RBCs (35-42 days old) obtained from the blood bank.