Cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p16 and p21 expression, and cell cycle change in human lens epithelial cell line SRA 01/04 following contact inhibition in normal culture.

Purpose: To describe the pattern of expression of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors (CDKIs) p16, p21 and p27, and the cell cycle in SRA 01/04 cells relative to contact inhibition.

Methods: SRA 01/04 cells were grown to overconfluence under normal conditions. At various phases of the cell growth, cells were assayed by flow cytometry and Western blotting for the expression of CDKIs.

Identification of the COL2A1 mutation in patients with type I Stickler syndrome using RNA from freshly isolated peripheral white blood cells.

Stickler syndrome type I is caused by mutations in the type II collagen gene (COL2A1), which is specifically expressed in cartilage and vitreous humor. We developed a simple and noninvasive strategy for identifying the COL2A1 mutation using RNA from freshly isolated peripheral white blood cells and identified a new 3' splice site mutation in a Japanese family with Stickler syndrome. RNA was isolated from a patient's peripheral white blood cells that had been incubated with cycloheximide, an inhibitor of nonsense-mediated mRNA decay.

Lecithin-bound superoxide dismutase in the treatment of noninfectious corneal ulcers.

Purpose: To evaluate the effects of a lipophilic analog of superoxide dismutase in the treatment of persistent epithelial defects of the cornea.

Design: Interventional case series.

Methods: Nineteen eyes of 19 patients with noninfectious corneal ulcers were enrolled.