Long noncoding RNA EPCART regulates translation through PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway and PDCD4 in prostate cancer.

While hundreds of cancer-associated long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been discovered, their functional role in cancer cells is still largely a mystery. An increasing number of lncRNAs are recognized to function in the cytoplasm, e.g.

Comparison of early changes in tear film protein profiles after small incision lenticule extraction (SMILE) and femtosecond LASIK (FS-LASIK) surgery.

Background: Small incision lenticule extraction (SMILE) and femtosecond laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) are widely used surgical methods to correct myopia with comparable efficacy, predictability, and safety. We examined and compared the early changes of tear protein profiles after SMILE and FS-LASIK surgery in order to find possible differences in the initial corneal healing process.

Methods: SMILE operations for 26 eyes were made with Visumax femtosecond laser.

Proteomics of Deep Cervical Lymph Nodes After Experimental Traumatic Brain Injury.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) damages the glymphatic-lymphatic system. We hypothesized that brain injury associated with trauma results in the enrichment of brain-relevant proteins in deep cervical lymph nodes (DCLNs), the end station of meningeal lymphatic vessels, and that some of these proteins will present mechanistic tissue biomarkers for TBI. Proteomes of rat DCLNs were investigated in the left DCLN (ipsilateral to injury) and right DCLN at 6.

Proteomics Analysis of R-Ras Deficiency in Oxygen Induced Retinopathy.

Small GTPase R-Ras regulates vascular permeability in angiogenesis. In the eye, abnormal angiogenesis and hyperpermeability are the leading causes of vision loss in several ischemic retinal diseases such as proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR), retinal vein occlusion (RVO), and retinopathy of prematurity (ROP). Oxygen-induced retinopathy (OIR) is the most widely used experimental model for these ischemic retinopathies.

Clinical Tear Fluid Proteomics-A Novel Tool in Glaucoma Research.

Tear fluid forms the outermost layer of the ocular surface and its characteristics and composition have been connected to various ocular surface diseases. As tear proteomics enables the non-invasive investigation of protein levels in the tear fluid, it has become an increasingly popular approach in ocular surface and systemic disease studies. Glaucoma, which is a set of multifactorial diseases affecting mainly the optic nerve and retinal ganglion cells, has also been studied using tear proteomics.

Antibacterial and Oxidative Stress-Protective Effects of Five Monoterpenes from Softwood.

Volatile organic compounds (VOC) affect the quality of indoor air. Terpenes and especially monoterpenes are the main molecules emitted from softwood material (coniferous species), which is widely used in construction. The corneal epithelium is one of the first human membranes to encounter VOCs in the air.

Intraluminal deposits: A rare cause of glaucoma drainage implant total obstruction.

Purpose: To report the unforeseen complication of total obstruction of a glaucoma drainage implant (GDI) tube lumen by white deposit material and to present a preliminary report identifying the composition of this material.

Methods: Two subjects with a high IOP due to total obstruction of a GDI tube were reviewed. Both patients had a long history with brinzolamide and timolol maleate eye drops.

Ocular surface health of the Finnish elderly population.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to describe the clinical ocular surface characteristics in a population-based sample of Finnish elderly people.

Methods: This cross-sectional study included 601 subjects (335 females, 266 males) born between the years 1933-1956 and living in Savitaipale, Finland. Ocular surface health was evaluated using a comprehensive set of diagnostic tests.

Looking deeper into ocular surface health: an introduction to clinical tear proteomics analysis.

Ocular surface diseases are becoming more prevalent worldwide. Reasons for this include the ongoing population ageing and increasing use of digital displays, although ophthalmologists have a wide selection of tools, which can be implemented in the evaluation of the ocular surface health, methods, which enable the in-depth study of biological functions are gaining more interest. These new approaches are needed, since the individual responses to ocular surface diseases and treatments can vary from person to person, and the correlations between clinical signs and symptoms are often low.

Early changes in tear film protein profiles after femtosecond LASIK surgery.

Background: Femtosecond laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) has proven to be an efficacious, predictable, and safe procedure for the correction of refractive errors. We examined the early tear protein changes of patients undergoing LASIK surgery in order to better understand the mechanisms and proteins related to laser corneal surgery and initial recovery.

Methods: Corneal flaps were created with Ziemer FEMTO LDV Z6 I femtosecond laser and stroma was ablated using Wavelight EX500 excimer laser.

Comparison of Capillary and Schirmer Strip Tear Fluid Sampling Methods Using SWATH-MS Proteomics Approach.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the protein profile differences between capillary and Schirmer strip tear fluid samples.

Methods: Both capillary and Schirmer strip tear samples were collected from 31 healthy participants at the same visit, and the samples were analyzed with nanoflow liquid chromatography coupled with time-of-flight mass spectrometer (NanoLC-MSTOF), implementing a sequential window acquisition of all theoretical fragment ion spectra mass spectrometry (SWATH-MS). Sample type-specific and combined spectral libraries were used to evaluate the differences between the sample types in protein expression levels and biological functions.

In vitro stem cell modelling demonstrates a proof-of-concept for excess functional mutant TIMP3 as the cause of Sorsby fundus dystrophy.

Sorsby fundus dystrophy (SFD) is a rare autosomal dominant disease of the macula that leads to bilateral loss of central vision and is caused by mutations in the TIMP3 gene. However, the mechanisms by which TIMP3 mutations cause SFD are poorly understood. Here, we generated human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived retinal pigmented epithelial (hiPSC-RPE) cells from three SFD patients carrying TIMP3 p.

The effect of successful trabeculectomy on the ocular surface and tear proteomics-a prospective cohort study with 1-year follow-up.

Purpose: To report changes in the ocular surface and tear proteomics after discontinuation of chronic glaucoma medication.

Methods: Patients requiring trabeculectomy were recruited from the glaucoma clinic of Tampere University Hospital, Finland. Fifty-seven patients with previous history of anti-glaucomatous eye drops (8.

Bioactive Properties of the Aqueous Extracts of Endophytic Fungi Associated with Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris) Roots.

Despite the continuing interest in various plant and natural products, only a small portion of the biologically active compounds from nature has been discovered and exploited. In this study, antioxidant and antibacterial properties of aqueous fractions of three endophytic fungi isolated from the roots of 8-year-old Scots pines () growing on a drained peatland were investigated. The endophytic fungi species were , and /.

Age-associated changes in human tear proteome.

Background: Prevalence of many eye and ocular surface diseases increases with age. While the clinical characteristics and pathophysiologic mechanisms of these conditions are often either known or extensively studied, the effects of normal aging on tear film and ocular surface have not been as widely researched.

Methods: In order to examine the effects of aging on tear fluid proteomics, tear fluid samples were collected preoperatively from 115 subjects undergoing strabismus or refractive surgery using glass microcapillary tubes.

Patient stratification in clinical glaucoma trials using the individual tear proteome.

Glaucoma patients are prone to concomitant ocular surface diseases; however, switching from preserved to preservative-free medication can often alleviate these symptoms. The objective of this study was to examine how the adverse effects and tear proteome change for glaucoma patients (n = 28) during a 12-month drug switch from preserved latanoprost (Xalatan) to preservative-free tafluprost (Taflotan). We hypothesized that patient stratification could help identify novel recovery patterns in both tear proteomics and clinical data.

Comparison of iTRAQ and SWATH in a clinical study with multiple time points.

Background: Advances in mass spectrometry have accelerated biomarker discovery in many areas of medicine. The purpose of this study was to compare two mass spectrometry (MS) methods, isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitation (iTRAQ) and sequential window acquisition of all theoretical fragment ion spectra (SWATH), for analytical efficiency in biomarker discovery when there are multiple methodological constraints such as limited sample size and several time points for each patient to be analyzed.

Methods: A total of 140 tear samples were collected from 28 glaucoma patients at 5 time points in a glaucoma drug switch study.

SWATH-MS Proteomic Analysis of Oxygen-Induced Retinopathy Reveals Novel Potential Therapeutic Targets.

Purpose: Oxygen-induced retinopathy (OIR) is the most widely used model for ischemic retinopathies such as retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR), and retinal vein occlusion (RVO). The purpose of this study was to perform the most comprehensive characterization of OIR by a recently developed technique, sequential window acquisition of all theoretical mass spectra (SWATH-MS) proteomics.

Methods: Control and OIR retina samples collected from various time points were subjected to SWATH-MS and detailed data analysis.

Integrative proteomics in prostate cancer uncovers robustness against genomic and transcriptomic aberrations during disease progression.

To understand functional consequences of genetic and transcriptional aberrations in prostate cancer, the proteomic changes during disease formation and progression need to be revealed. Here we report high-throughput mass spectrometry on clinical tissue samples of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), untreated primary prostate cancer (PC) and castration resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). Each sample group shows a distinct protein profile.

Topical fluorometholone treatment and desiccating stress change inflammatory protein expression in tears.

Purpose: It was hypothesized that tear protein biomarkers could predict the effects of topical steroid treatment and desiccating stress in patients with dry eye disease (DED). To test this concept, a randomized, double-masked, controlled clinical trial with 41 patients was conducted.

Methods: The patients were treated topically with either 0.

Comparative proteomic analysis of human embryonic stem cell-derived and primary human retinal pigment epithelium.

Human embryonic stem cell-derived retinal pigment epithelial cells (hESC-RPE) provide an unlimited cell source for retinal cell replacement therapies. Clinical trials using hESC-RPE to treat diseases such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD) are currently underway. Human ESC-RPE cells have been thoroughly characterized at the gene level but their protein expression profile has not been studied at larger scale.

Comparative proteomics reveals human pluripotent stem cell-derived limbal epithelial stem cells are similar to native ocular surface epithelial cells.

Limbal epithelial stem cells (LESCs) are tissue-specific stem cells responsible for renewing the corneal epithelium. Acute trauma or chronic disease affecting LESCs may disrupt corneal epithelial renewal, causing vision threatening and painful ocular surface disorders, collectively referred to as LESC deficiency (LESCD). These disorders cannot be treated with traditional corneal transplantation and therefore alternative cell sources for successful cell-based therapy are needed.

Quantitation of 47 human tear proteins using high resolution multiple reaction monitoring (HR-MRM) based-mass spectrometry.

Unlabelled: Tear proteins are intimately related to the pathophysiology of the ocular surface. Many recent studies have demonstrated that the tear is an accessible fluid for studying eye diseases and biomarker discovery. This study describes a high resolution multiple reaction monitoring (HR-MRM) approach for developing assays for quantification of biologically important tear proteins.

Meiotic and epigenetic defects in Dnmt3L-knockout mouse spermatogenesis.

The production of mature germ cells capable of generating totipotent zygotes is a highly specialized and sexually dimorphic process. The transition from diploid primordial germ cell to haploid spermatozoa requires genome-wide reprogramming of DNA methylation, stage- and testis-specific gene expression, mitotic and meiotic division, and the histone-protamine transition, all requiring unique epigenetic control. Dnmt3L, a DNA methyltransferase regulator, is expressed during gametogenesis, and its deletion results in sterility.

Epigenetic modifications affect Dnmt3L expression.

Imprinted genes are expressed from a single allele due to differential methylation of maternal or paternal alleles during gametogenesis. Dnmt3L (DNA cytosine-5-methyltransferase 3 like), a member of de novo methyltransferase Dnmt3 protein family, is a regulator of maternal imprinting. In the present study, we have characterized the promoter region of the mouse Dnmt3L gene.