The Human Cornea: Unraveling Its Structural, Chemical, and Biochemical Complexities.

The cornea, the transparent part of the anterior eye, is vital for light refraction and vision. This review examines the intricate chemical and biochemical interactions essential for maintaining corneal transparency and highlights significant advancements in corneal biology. The cornea comprises five layers: the epithelium, Bowman's layer, stroma, Descemet's membrane, and endothelium, each contributing uniquely to its structure and function.

cRGD-modified hybrid lipopolymeric nanoplexes for gene editing in the posterior segment of the eye.

Eye-related diseases, specifically retinal dystrophy (RD) conditions, are the leading cause of blindness worldwide. Gene addition, regulation, or editing could potentially treat such diseases through gene expression regulation. CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing is one of the most prominent and precise gene editing tools which could be employed to edit genes related to the dystrophic condition.

Corneal blindness in the developing world: The role of prevention strategies.

Corneal blindness is an important contributor to the burden of global blindness and has a greater prevalence in low-income countries of the developing world where resources and infrastructure are limited. The causes of corneal blindness too are different from high-income countries and include infectious keratitis, ocular trauma, and xerophthalmia. Persons with these indications tend to have unfavourable outcomes after corneal transplantation, limiting their chances of benefitting from this sight-saving procedure.

Revisiting rabbit models for keratoconus: A long-term study on collagenase-induced disease progression.

Keratoconus (KC) is a degenerative disorder resulting from the degradation of the stromal collagen fibril network in the cornea, leading to its thinning and conical deformation. Various studies have established animal models of KC by using the collagenase type II enzyme to gain a better understanding of the pathogenesis, however, long-term monitoring or follow-up of the models have not been reported so far. This study evaluates the long-term stability of collagenase type II-induced KC in a rabbit model.

Human Lacrimal Gland Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells - Isolation, Propagation, and Characterization.

Purpose: The existing treatment options for dry eye disease (DED) due to lacrimal gland (LG) dysfunction are mainly palliative. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) based therapies and 3D-LG organoids have been explored as a curative option for LG regeneration in animal models. Human LG epithelial cultures are previously established and, here, we aim to isolate and characterize the spindle-shaped cells obtained from primary human LG cultures in order to unveil its MSC property.

Delivery strategies for CRISPR/Cas genome editing tool for retinal dystrophies: challenges and opportunities.

CRISPR/Cas, an adaptive immune system in bacteria, has been adopted as an efficient and precise tool for site-specific gene editing with potential therapeutic opportunities. It has been explored for a variety of applications, including gene modulation, epigenome editing, diagnosis, mRNA editing, etc. It has found applications in retinal dystrophic conditions including progressive cone and cone-rod dystrophies, congenital stationary night blindness, X-linked juvenile retinoschisis, retinitis pigmentosa, age-related macular degeneration, leber's congenital amaurosis, etc.

Identification and in silico analysis of a spectrum of SLC4A11 variations in Indian familial and sporadic cases of congenital hereditary endothelial dystrophy.

Background: Congenital hereditary endothelial dystrophy (CHED) is a rare form of corneal dystrophy caused by SLC4A11 gene variations. This study aims to find the genetic alterations in SLC4A11, in two Indian familial CHED cases with affected members n = 3 and n = 2 respectively and five sporadic CHED cases using direct sequencing, followed by in silico analysis and characterization of the identified variants.

Results: All three affected members of the first CHED family were identified with a novel homozygous c.

Cationic lipopolymeric nanoplexes containing the CRISPR/Cas9 ribonucleoprotein for genome surgery.

sgRNA/Cas9 ribonucleoproteins (RNPs) provide a site-specific robust gene-editing approach avoiding the mutagenesis and unwanted off-target effects. However, the high molecular weight (∼165 kDa), hydrophilicity and net supranegative charge (∼-20 mV) hinder the intracellular delivery of these RNPs. In the present study, we have prepared cationic RNPs lipopolymeric nanoplexes that showed a size of 117.

Lacrimal gland regeneration: The unmet challenges and promise for dry eye therapy.

Dry eye disease (DED) is a common multifactorial disease of the tear film and the ocular surface. The problem of DED has gained attention globally, with millions of people affected by the disorder. Although the treatment strategies for DED have significantly evolved over time, most of the existing modalities fall under the category of standard palliative care when viewed from a long-term perspective.

Expression of 3-Methylcrotonyl-CoA Carboxylase in Brain Tumors and Capability to Catabolize Leucine by Human Neural Cancer Cells.

Leucine is an essential, ketogenic amino acid with proteinogenic, metabolic, and signaling roles. It is readily imported from the bloodstream into the brain parenchyma. Therefore, it could serve as a putative substrate that is complementing glucose for sustaining the metabolic needs of brain tumor cells.

Histopathological spectrum of ocular surface squamous neoplasia: A retrospective study of 776 lesions.

Background: Ocular surface squamous neoplasia (OSSN) comprises neoplasm arising from the ocular surface, which includes conjunctiva, cornea, and limbus and ranges from mild dysplasia to invasive squamous cell carcinoma.

Purpose: The aim of this work was to study the spectrum of OSSN based on histopathological analysis. Materials and.

Chronic Ocular Sequelae of Stevens-Johnson Syndrome in Children: Long-term Impact of Appropriate Therapy on Natural History of Disease.

Purpose: To describe the long-term ocular and visual morbidity in children with chronic sequelae of Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS) and visual outcomes of various management strategies.

Design: Retrospective comparative case series.

Methods: This study included 568 eyes of 284 children with SJS who presented between 1990 and 2015.

Differential Expression of Stem Cell Markers in Ocular Surface Squamous Neoplasia.

Ocular Surface Squamous Neoplasm (OSSN) is the neoplasia arising from the conjunctiva, cornea and limbus. OSSN ranges from mild, moderate, severe dysplasia, carcinoma in situ (CIS) to squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Recent findings on cancer stem cells theory indicate that population of stem-like cell as in neoplasia determines its heterogeneity and complexity leading to varying tumor development of metastatic behavior and recurrence.

Simple Limbal Epithelial Transplantation: Long-Term Clinical Outcomes in 125 Cases of Unilateral Chronic Ocular Surface Burns.

Purpose: This study describes the long-term clinical outcomes of autologous simple limbal epithelial transplantation (SLET), a relatively new technique of limbal stem cell transplantation.

Design: This was a single-center prospective interventional cases series.

Participants: This study included 125 patients, 65 adults and 60 children who developed unilateral limbal stem cell deficiency (LSCD) after suffering with ocular surface burns and underwent SLET between 2010 and 2014.

Enriched Cultures of Retinal Cells From BJNhem20 Human Embryonic Stem Cell Line of Indian Origin.

Purpose: To test the retinal differentiation potential and to establish an optimized protocol for enriching retinal cells from an Indian origin, human embryonic stem cell (hESC) line, BJNhem20.

Methods: The BJNhem20 cells were cultured and expanded under feeder-free culture conditions. Differentiation was initiated by embryoid body (EB) formation and were cultured on Matrigel in neural induction medium (NIM) for 1 week and further maintained in retinal differentiation medium (RDM).

Revisiting the impact of phenylephrine hydrochloride on static and dynamic accommodation.

Purpose: Phenylephrine hydrochloride (PHCl), a commonly used mydriatic agent, causes a small but significant deterioration of accommodation. The relative roles of pharmacology and optics in this deterioration, however, remain unascertained. The study determined the combined impact of PHCl concentration (pharmacology) and pupil size (optics) on the static and dynamic characteristics of accommodation.

The effect of lens-induced anisometropia on accommodation and vergence during human visual development.

Purpose: Clear and single binocular vision, a prerequisite for normal human visual development, is achieved through accommodation and vergence. Anisometropia is associated with abnormal visual development, but its impact on accommodation and vergence, and therefore on the individual's visual experience, is not known. This study determined the impact of transiently induced anisometropia on accommodative and vergence performance of the typically developing human visual system.

Genetic analysis of Indian families with autosomal recessive retinitis pigmentosa by homozygosity screening.

Purpose: To identify the disease-causing genes in families with autosomal recessive RP (ARRP).

Methods: Families were screened for homozygosity at candidate gene loci followed by screening of the selected gene for pathogenic mutations if homozygosity was present at a given locus. A total of 34 families were included, of which 24 were consanguineous.