Quantifying changes in corneal neovascularization using fluorescein and indocyanine green angiography.

Purpose: To quantify changes in corneal neovascularization in patients with active keratitis after treatment using color imaging, fluorescein angiography (FA), and indocyanine green angiography (ICGA).

Design: Prospective, interventional case series.

Methods: Twelve consecutive patients were studied.

Hypoxia regulated gene transcription in human optic nerve lamina cribrosa cells in culture.

Purpose: Vascular hypoperfusion, extracellular matrix remodeling and axon loss are pathological characteristics of the glaucomatous optic nerve head. We report a novel study demonstrating transcriptional responses in optic nerve lamina cribrosa (LC) cells exposed to in vitro hypoxic stress.

Methods: Primary cultures of human glial fibrillary acid protein (GFAP) negative LC cells were generated from four donors.

Differential global and extra-cellular matrix focused gene expression patterns between normal and glaucomatous human lamina cribrosa cells.

Purpose: Marked extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling occurs in the human optic nerve head in primary open angle glaucoma (POAG). The glial fibrillary acid protein (GFAP) negative lamina cribrosa cell may play an important role in this remodeling process. We report the first study of global and ECM-focused gene transcription differentials between GFAP-negative lamina cribrosa (LC) cells from normal and POAG human donors.

Influence of cyclical mechanical strain on extracellular matrix gene expression in human lamina cribrosa cells in vitro.

Purpose: The mechanical effect of raised intraocular pressure is a recognised stimulus for optic neuropathy in primary open angle glaucoma (POAG). Characteristic extracellular matrix (ECM) remodelling accompanies axonal damage in the lamina cribrosa (LC) of the optic nerve head in POAG. Glial cells in the lamina cribrosa may play a role in this process but the precise cellular responses to mechanical forces in this region are unknown.

Transforming growth factor-beta-regulated gene transcription and protein expression in human GFAP-negative lamina cribrosa cells.

Primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) is a progressive optic neuropathy, which is a major cause of worldwide visual impairment and blindness. Pathological hallmarks of the glaucomatous optic nerve head (ONH) include retinal ganglion cell axon loss and extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling of the lamina cribrosa layer. Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) is an important pro-fibrotic modulator of ECM metabolism, whose levels are elevated in human POAG lamina cribrosa tissue compared with non-glaucomatous controls.

Effect of cyclical mechanical stretch and exogenous transforming growth factor-beta1 on matrix metalloproteinase-2 activity in lamina cribrosa cells from the human optic nerve head.

Purpose: Extensive remodeling of the lamina cribrosa extracellular matrix occurs in primary open angle glaucoma. The transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) protein families are implicated in this process. The authors investigated (a).