Technique for Ensuring Type I Bubble Formation for Pre-Descemet Endothelial Keratoplasty Preparation.

Purpose: To describe a technique that ensures the production of a type 1 bubble when preparing pre-Descemet endothelial keratoplasty (PDEK) grafts with a high rate of predictability.

Methods: Donor corneas were placed on a support disc, and a blunt instrument was used to score 360 degrees of the peripheral Descemet membrane and endothelium just inside the trabecular meshwork. Air was injected in several short bursts and several stages with a 30-gauge needle on a 3-mL syringe 2.

Trabeculotomy ab interno with Trabectome as surgical management for systemic fluoroquinolone-induced pigmentary glaucoma: A case report.

Rationale: Bilateral acute iris transillumination (BAIT) is a poorly-understood ocular syndrome in which patients present with acute iridocyclitis and pigmentary dispersion with or without ocular hypertension. The etiology of the disease remains unknown, though recent reports suggest an antecedent upper respiratory tract infection or systemic antibiotic administration may trigger the clinical syndrome.

Patient Concerns: A 55-year-old female was referred for a second opinion regarding her bilateral ocular pain, photophobia, and ocular hypertension.

Clinical, imaging, pathological, and biochemical characterization of a novel presenilin 1 mutation (N135Y) causing Alzheimer's disease.

We present 2 cases of early-onset Alzheimer's disease due to a novel N135Y mutation in PSEN1. The proband presented with memory and other cognitive symptoms at age 32. Detailed clinical characterization revealed initial deficits in memory with associated dysarthria, progressing to involve executive dysfunction, spastic gait, and episodic confusion with polyspike discharges on long-term electroencephalography.

Interleukin-4 and interleukin-13 compromise the sinonasal epithelial barrier and perturb intercellular junction protein expression.

Background: Altered expression of epithelial intercellular junction proteins has been observed in sinonasal biopsies from nasal polyps and epithelial layers cultured from nasal polyp patients. These alterations comprise a "leaky" epithelial barrier phenotype. We hypothesize that T helper 2 (Th2) cytokines interleukin (IL)-4 and IL-13 modulate epithelial junction proteins, thereby contributing to the leaky epithelial barrier.

House dust mite allergen Der p 1 effects on sinonasal epithelial tight junctions.

Background: Epithelial permeability is highly dependent upon the integrity of tight junctions, which are cell-cell adhesion complexes located at the apical aspect of the lateral membrane of polarized epithelial cells. We hypothesize that sinonasal epithelial exposure to Der p 1 house dust mite antigen decreases expression of tight junction proteins (TJPs), representing a potential mechanism for increased permeability and presentation of antigens across the sinonasal epithelial layer.

Methods: Confluent cultured primary human sinonasal epithelial cells were exposed to recombinant Der p 1 antigen vs control, and transepithelial resistance measurements were performed over 24 hours.

Annexin A2 regulates β1 integrin internalization and intestinal epithelial cell migration.

The gastrointestinal epithelium functions as an important barrier that separates luminal contents from the underlying tissue compartment and is vital in maintaining mucosal homeostasis. Mucosal wounds in inflammatory disorders compromise the critical epithelial barrier. In response to injury, intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) rapidly migrate to reseal wounds.

Sinonasal epithelial wound resealing in an in vitro model: inhibition of wound closure with IL-4 exposure.

Background: Prolonged healing and persistent inflammation following surgery for rhinosinusitis impacts patient satisfaction and healthcare resources. Cytokines interleukin (IL)-4, IL-5, and IL-13 are important mediators in T-helper 2 (Th2) inflammatory rhinosinusitis. Decreased wound healing has been demonstrated with Th2 cytokine exposure, but this has not been extensively studied in sinonasal epithelium.

Epithelial permeability alterations in an in vitro air-liquid interface model of allergic fungal rhinosinusitis.

Background: Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is an inflammatory upper-airway disease with numerous etiologies. Patients with a characteristic subtype of CRS, allergic fungal rhinosinusitis (AFRS), display increased expression of T helper 2 (Th2) cytokines and antigen-specific immunoglobulin E (IgE). Various sinonasal inflammatory conditions are associated with alterations in epithelial barrier function.

Epithelial tight junction alterations in nasal polyposis.

Objective: To explore alterations in expression of tight junction proteins (TJPs) in nasal polyposis and in respiratory epithelium under inflammatory conditions. Our hypothesis is that exposure of nasal and respiratory epithelium to inflammatory cytokines results in the altered expression of specific TJPs.

Methods: Human sinonasal mucosa (3 nasal polyp specimens and 3 nonpolypoid controls) were stained with immunofluorescent markers specific for TJPs claudin-1 and occludin and examined with confocal scanning laser microscopy.

Tumor suppressor scribble regulates assembly of tight junctions in the intestinal epithelium.

Formation of the epithelial barrier and apico-basal cell polarity represent two characteristics and mutually dependent features of differentiated epithelial monolayers. They are controlled by special adhesive structures, tight junctions (TJs), and polarity protein complexes that define the apical and the basolateral plasma membrane. The functional interplay between TJs and polarity complexes remains poorly understood.