Lens growth and protein density in the rat lens after in vivo exposure to ultraviolet radiation.

Purpose: To investigate lens growth after different doses of ultraviolet radiation (UVR) and to investigate the long-term effect of a near-threshold UVR dose on the refractive index distribution in the lens.

Methods: Sprague-Dawley rats received UVR (lambda(MAX) = 300 nm) unilaterally during a 15-minute period. The exposure dose ranged from 0.

Are cytokine patterns in aqueous humour useful in distinguishing corneal graft rejection from opacification due to herpetic stromal keratitis?

Purpose: Intra-ocular cytokine profiles were determined to study the immunological mechanisms of corneal graft opacification due to rejection and/or herpetic stromal keratitis (HSK).

Methods: Sera and aqueous humour (AH) were sampled shortly after the onset of corneal graft opacification, group I (n=18). In eyes with clear grafts, samples were taken 5 months after transplantation, group II (n=59).

Detection of herpes simplex virus type 1, 2 and varicella zoster virus DNA in recipient corneal buttons.

Aim: To study the value of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis, to detect viral DNA in recipient corneal buttons taken at the time of penetrating keratoplasty (PKP) in patients with an initial diagnosis of herpetic stromal keratitis (HSK). Since HSK has a tendency to recur, an accurate diagnosis of previous HSK could be the reason to start antiviral treatment immediately, thereby possibly decreasing the number of graft failures due to recurrent herpetic keratitis.

Methods: Recipient corneal buttons and aqueous humour (AH) samples were obtained at the time of PKP from HSK patients (n=31) and from other patients (n=78).

The open- and closed-loop gain-characteristics of the cone/horizontal cell synapse in goldfish retina.

Under constant light-adapted conditions, vision seems to be rather linear. However, the processes underlying the synaptic transmission between cones and second-order neurons (bipolar cells and horizontal cells) are highly nonlinear. In this paper, the gain-characteristics of the transmission from cones to horizontal cells and from horizontal cells to cones are determined with and without negative feedback from horizontal cells to cones.

Constitutive cyclooxygenase-1 and induced cyclooxygenase-2 in isolated human iris inhibited by S(+) flurbiprofen.

The purpose of the present study was to characterize the isoforms of cyclooxygenase (COX) in the human iris before and after stimulation with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and to determine the selectivity of the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), S(+) flurbiprofen, for inhibition of COX-1 and COX-2 in homogenates of this tissue. Spotblots were made of extracts of human iris in the absence and presence of LPS plus acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin). After reacting with anti-COX-1 and anti-COX-2 immunoglobulin G, the presence of both immunoreactive COX enzymes was substantiated using an indirect immunoperoxidase method.

Flurbiprofen and enantiomers in ophthalmic solution tested as inhibitors of prostanoid synthesis in human blood.

The purpose of this study was to assess the selectivity and potency of the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), flurbiprofen, and its enantiomers in their inhibition of cyclooxygenase-1 (COX-1) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2). An assay was used with freshly drawn, heparinized human whole blood, incubated with 25 microM calcium ionophore A23187 during 60 min to produce thromboxane B2 (TXB2) by activity of COX-1 in platelets. Incubation with E.

IgA antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii in human tears.

Purpose: To investigate whether mucosal immune responses directed against the ubiquitous parasite Toxoplasma gondii can be detected in tears of healthy humans.

Methods: Nonstimulated tears and blood were obtained from 62 healthy humans (mean age, 35 +/- 10 [SD] years). Serum anti-T.

Effect of macrophage depletion on immune effector mechanisms during corneal allograft rejection in rats.

Purpose: In rats, corneal allograft rejection is delayed for at least 100 days by clodronate liposomes. These liposomes selectively deplete macrophages. To investigate the immunologic basis for absence of graft rejection in treated rats, the effect of these liposomes on the generation of cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) and antibody production after orthotopic corneal allotransplantation was determined.

Sorsby fundus dystrophy without a mutation in the TIMP-3 gene.

Aims: To examine a large family with an autosomal dominant fundus dystrophy and to investigate whether or not mutations in TIMP-3 gene were involved.

Methods: A large family of 58 individuals with an autosomal dominant fundus dystrophy was examined ophthalmologically. A DNA linkage analysis in the 22q12.

Immunocytochemical localization of the glutamate transporter GLT-1 in goldfish (Carassius auratus) retina.

Glutamate is the major excitatory neurotransmitter in the retina of vertebrates. Electrophysiological experiments in goldfish and salamander have shown that neuronal glutamate transporters play an important role in the clearance of glutamate from cone synaptic clefts. In this study, the localization of the glutamate transporter GLT-1 has been investigated immunocytochemically at the light and electron microscopical levels in the goldfish retina using a GLT-1-specific antibody.

Mutations in ABCC6 cause pseudoxanthoma elasticum.

Pseudoxanthoma elasticum (PXE) is a heritable disorder of the connective tissue. PXE patients frequently experience visual field loss and skin lesions, and occasionally cardiovascular complications. Histopathological findings reveal calcification of the elastic fibres and abnormalities of the collagen fibrils.

Cytokines in aqueous humour and serum before and after corneal transplantation and during rejection.

Cytokine profiles in aqueous humour were studied in relation to corneal disease and subsequent corneal graft survival or rejection. Cytokine levels in samples obtained from eyes with clear grafts (n = 59) were all within the normal range. At the time of penetrating keratoplasty (n = 146), intraocular levels of IL-6 were increased in 38% (50/131), most markedly in eyes with previous allograft failure or herpetic stromal keratitis.

Rate of visual field loss in progressive glaucoma.

Objective: To investigate the rate of visual field (VF) loss in progressive glaucoma.

Setting: Outpatient department, nonreferral base.

Methods: A cohort of 34 patients with normal-pressure glaucoma (NPG), 68 patients with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG), and 125 patients with ocular hypertension (OHT) were followed up for an average of 9 years.

Immunohistochemical localization of substance P and substance P receptor (NK1) in the olivary pretectal nucleus of the rat.

The olivary pretectal nucleus (OPN) is the first central nucleus in the pupillary light reflex arc (PLR). Substance P (SP) is a neuropeptide present in the OPN. The present immunohistochemical study, performed at the ultrastructural level, aimed to determine the synaptic localization of SP and SP receptor in the OPN.

The nature of surround-induced depolarizing responses in goldfish cones.

Cones in the vertebrate retina project to horizontal and bipolar cells and the horizontal cells feedback negatively to cones. This organization forms the basis for the center/surround organization of the bipolar cells, a fundamental step in the visual signal processing. Although the surround responses of bipolar cells have been recorded on many occasions, surprisingly, the underlying surround-induced responses in cones are not easily detected.

Analysis of the secretion pattern of monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1) and transforming growth factor-beta 2 (TGF-beta2) by human retinal pigment epithelial cells.

Retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells, situated between the neurosensory retina and the vascularized choroid, form part of the blood-eye barrier and are important for homeostasis of the outer retina. These cells are able to produce a variety of cytokines which may play a role in the maintenance of the immunosuppressive milieu inside the eye and in intraocular inflammatory responses. In the present study, we investigated whether RPE cells secreted the anti-inflammatory cytokine TGF-beta2 and the proinflammatory cytokine MCP-1 in a polarized manner.

Flow after prostaglandin E1 is mediated by receptor-coupled adenylyl cyclase in human anterior segments.

Purpose: To assess the effect of prostaglandin (PG) F2alpha and PGE1 on flow through the trabecular meshwork in organ preserved human anterior segments.

Methods: Isolated human anterior segments were perfused under standard conditions at a constant pressure of 10 mm Hg, while flow was continuously monitored. After a stabilization period, 6 consecutive concentrations of PGs were administered.

Intrinsic cone adaptation modulates feedback efficiency from horizontal cells to cones.

Processing of visual stimuli by the retina changes strongly during light/dark adaptation. These changes are due to both local photoreceptor-based processes and to changes in the retinal network. The feedback pathway from horizontal cells to cones is known to be one of the pathways that is modulated strongly during adaptation.

The feedback pathway from horizontal cells to cones. A mini review with a look ahead.

The feedback pathway from HCs to cones forms the basis of the surround responses of the bipolar cells and is essential for the spectral opponency of horizontal cells. The nature of this feedback pathway is an issue of debate. Three hypothesis are presented in literature: (1) a GABAA-ergic feedback pathway; (2) a GABA-independent feedback pathway that modulates the Ca-current in cones; and (3) an electrical feedback pathway.

Integrated genetic and physical map of the 1q31-->q32.1 region, encompassing the RP12 locus, the F13B and HF1 genes, and the EEF1AL11 and RPL30 pseudogenes.

The gene for autosomal recessive retinitis pigmentosa (RP12) with preserved para-arteriolar retinal pigment epithelium was previously mapped close to the F13B gene in region 1q31-->q32.1. A 4-Mb yeast artificial chromosome contig spanning this interval was constructed to facilitate cloning of the RP12 gene.

Retinitis pigmentosa: defined from a molecular point of view.

Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) denotes a group of hereditary retinal dystrophies, characterized by the early onset of night blindness followed by a progressive loss of the visual field. The primary defect underlying RP affects the function of the rod photoreceptor cell, and, subsequently, mostly unknown molecular and cellular mechanisms trigger the apoptotic degeneration of these photoreceptor cells. Retinitis pigmentosa is very heterogeneous, both phenotypically and genetically.

Expression of multiple forms of IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra) by human retinal pigment epithelial cells: identification of a new IL-1ra exon.

The eye is considered an immunologically privileged organ and is separated from the rest of the body by blood-ocular barriers. Part of the blood-retina barrier consists of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE). In addition to the physical barrier which the monolayer of RPE cells forms, these cells contribute to ocular immune privilege by producing anti-inflammatory molecules that down-regulate potential damaging immune reactions.

Differences between intraocular and serum antibody responses in patients with ocular toxoplasmosis.

Purpose: To investigate the antigen specificity of the intraocular anti-Toxoplasma gondii antibody response in patients with ocular toxoplasmosis.

Methods: Paired ocular fluid and serum samples were collected from 13 patients with active ocular toxoplasmosis. Serum IgM anti-T.

Cytotoxic T lymphocytes and antibodies after orthotropic penetrating keratoplasty in rats treated with dichloromethylene diphosphonate encapsulated liposomes.

Purpose: To investigate the immunological basis for the prolonged corneal allograft survival after subconjunctival injections of liposomes filled with dichloromethylene diphosphonate (Cl2MDP-LIP).

Methods: F344 rats received orthotropic DA corneal grafts. One group of rats was treated with subconjunctival injections of Cl2MDP-LIP on days 0, 2, 4, 6 and 8 postoperatively, the control groups received no treatment.