Crystallin β-b2 promotes retinal ganglion cell protection in experimental autoimmune uveoretinitis.

Crystallin βb2 (crybb2) is upregulated in regenerating retinas and in various pathological conditions of the retina, including uveoretinitis. However, the role of crybb2 in this disease is largely unknown. Therefore, we used recombinant crybb2 (rcrybb2) as intravitreal treatment of B10.

The state of the population of narrow-clawed crayfish in Lake Sevan (Armenia) under multiple stress conditions.

The narrow-clawed crayfish is a crayfish species that was accidentally introduced into the ecosystem of Lake Sevan in the 1980s. Soon it became one of the most preferred fisheries in the lake and an important link in the food chain by successfully replacing the endemic fish subspecies Sevan khramicarp (Capoeta sevangi, De Filippi, 1865) in the chain of detritivores. However, recently, the stock declines dramatically, associated with two main threats: the impact of burn-spot disease and an increase in fishing pressure on its population.

A review of focused ion beam applications in optical fibers.

Focused ion beam (FIB) technology has become a promising technique in micro- and nano-prototyping due to several advantages over its counterparts such as direct (maskless) processing, sub-10 nm feature size, and high reproducibility. Moreover, FIB machining can be effectively implemented on both conventional planar substrates and unconventional curved surfaces such as optical fibers, which are popular as an effective medium for telecommunications. Optical fibers have also been widely used as intrinsically light-coupled substrates to create a wide variety of compact fiber-optic devices by FIB milling diverse micro- and nanostructures onto the fiber surface (endfacet or outer cladding).

Alterations in Tight- and Adherens-Junction Proteins Related to Glaucoma Mimicked in the Organotypically Cultivated Mouse Retina Under Elevated Pressure.

Purpose: To scrutinize alterations in cellular interactions and cell signaling in the glaucomatous retina, mouse retinal explants were exposed to elevated pressure.

Methods: Retinal explants were prepared from C57bl6 mice and cultivated in a pressure chamber under normotensive (atmospheric pressure + 0 mm Hg), moderately elevated (30 mm Hg), and highly elevated (60 mm Hg) pressure conditions. The expression levels of proteins involved in the formation of tight junctions (zonula occludens 1 [ZO-1], occludin, and claudin-5) and adherens junctions (VE-cadherin and β-catenin) and in cell-signaling cascades (Cdc42 and activated Cdc42 kinase 1 [ACK1]), as well as the expression levels of the growth-factor receptors platelet-derived growth factor receptor beta and vascular endothelial growth factor receptors 1 and 2 (VEGFR-1, VEGFR-2) and of diverse intracellular proteins (β-III-tubulin, glial fibrillary acidic protein transcript variant 1, α-smooth muscle actin, vimentin, and von Willebrand factor VIII), were analyzed using immunohistochemistry, western blotting, and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reactions.

Elevated intraocular pressure induces neuron-specific β-III-tubulin expression in non-neuronal vascular cells.

Purpose: Pathological alterations within optic nerve axons and progressive loss of the parental retinal ganglion cell (RGC) bodies are characteristics of glaucomatous neuropathy. Abnormally elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) is thought to be the major risk factor for most forms of glaucomatous changes, while lowering of the IOP is the mainstream of treatment. However, the pathophysiological mechanisms involved in neurodegenerative changes are poorly understood.