Experimental Eye Research

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

In vitro primary cell culture models of retinal ganglion cells (RGC) are widely used to study pathomechanisms of diseases such as glaucoma. The biomechanic interaction with the culture substrate is known to influence core cellular functions. RGC cultures, however, are usually grown on rigid plastic or glass substrates. We hypothesized that soft polyacrylamide gel substrates may alter survival and neurite outgrowth of primary cultured RGC. Primary retinal cultures from postnatal (day 1-6) Wistar rats were grown on glass coverslips or polyacrylamide (PA) gel substrate with different Young's elastic moduli (0...

In age-related macular degeneration (AMD), large choroidal hypertransmission defects (hyperTDs) are identified on en face optical coherence tomography (OCT) images as bright lesions measuring at least 250 μm in greatest linear dimension (GLD). These choroidal hyperTDs arise from focal attenuation or loss of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE). We previously reported that once large hyperTDs formed, they were likely to persist compared with smaller lesions that were more likely to be transient. Due to their relative persistence, these large persistent choroidal hyperTDs are a point-of-no-return in the progression of intermediate AMD to the late stage of atrophic AMD...

Stable isotope labeled standards of all major human lens crystallins were created to measure the abundance of lens endogenous crystallins from birth to adulthood. All major human crystallins (αA, αB, βA2, βA3/A1, βA4, βB1, βB2, βB3, γA, γB, γC, γD, γS) were cloned with N-terminal 6 x His tagged SUMO for ease of purification and the ability to generate natural N-termini by SUMO protease cleavage when producing crystallins for structure/function studies...

Deficient Angiopoietin-Tie2 signaling is linked to ocular hypertension in glaucoma. Receptor Tie2/TEK expression and signaling at Schlemm's canal (SC) is indispensable for canal integrity and homeostatic regulation of aqueous humor outflow (AHO) and intraocular pressure (IOP), as validated by conditional deletion of Tie2, its ligands (Angpt1, Angpt2 and Angpt3/4) or regulators (Tie1 and PTPRB/VE-PTP). However, these Tie2/TEK knockouts and conditional knockouts are global or endothelial, preventing separation of systemic and ocular vascular defects that impact retinal or renal integrity...

This study aimed to investigate potential functional changes in retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) in a mouse model of hyperglycemia and explore possible therapeutic approaches. Hyperglycemia resembling type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM) was induced in C57BL/6 mice through intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (STZ). Blood glucose levels were confirmed to be elevated after 1 week and 4 weeks of injection. Mice with blood glucose levels above 350 mg/mL after 4 weeks of one-dose STZ injection were considered hyperglycemic...

The precise role and innate immunological mechanisms underlying lymphangiogenesis in pterygium remain unclear. This study aimed to investigate the presence of M1 and M2 macrophages and their correlation with pro-lymphangiogenic activation and lymphatic endothelial expression in human pterygium stromal tissues. We analyzed human pterygium and subject-matched normal conjunctival tissues for the expression of these factors and conducted in vitro experiments to assess interactions between macrophages and pterygium fibroblasts...

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a prominent cause of vision loss, characterized by two different types, dry (atrophic) and wet (neovascular). Dry AMD is distinguished by the progressive deterioration of retinal cells, which ultimately causes a decline in vision. In contrast, wet AMD is defined by the abnormal development of blood vessels underneath the retina, leading to a sudden and severe vision impairment. The course of AMD is primarily driven by chronic inflammation and pathological angiogenesis, in which the NF-κB signaling pathway plays a crucial role...

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a microvascular complication associated with diabetes mellitus (DM). During the course of the disease, high blood glucose levels induce damage to the vasculature of the retina and promote neovascularization. Although numerous environmental risk factors have been associated with the emergence of DR, the role of genetics should not be underestimated. The human leukocyte antigen (HLA) plays a significant role in the regulation of the immune system. DR exhibits significant heterogeneity among patients, with differences in how the disease presents and progresses over time...

Keratoconus (KC) is a complex corneal disorder with a well-recognized genetic component. In this study, we aimed to expand the genetic spectrum of 200 Chinese patients with keratoconus and their unaffected parents. Trio-based whole-exome sequencing was performed in 200 patients with sporadic keratoconus and their unaffected parents. The variants identified in candidate genes for keratoconus were analyzed using multiple bioinformatics tools. Finally, we identified 7 variants in 5 candidate genes for keratoconus in 5 patients...

The intricate interaction network necessary for essential physiological functions underscores the interdependence among eukaryotic cells. Mitochondria-Associated Endoplasmic Reticulum Membranes (MAMs), specialized junctions between mitochondria and the ER, were recently discovered. These junctions participate in various cellular processes, including calcium level regulation, lipid metabolism, mitochondrial integrity maintenance, autophagy, and inflammatory responses via modulating the structure and molecular composition of various cellular components...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

Our purpose was to develop a protocol for prolonged anesthesia in mice and evaluate optic nerve axon injury in response to 4 hours of controlled elevation of intraocular pressure (CEI). During CEI, C57BL/6 male mice (3-5 months old) were anesthetized with 1.5% isoflurane with 100% oxygen for 4 hours and placed on a warm platform, with expired gas and anesthetic actively evacuated. Lactated ringers (0.5 ml) with 5% dextrose was administered subcutaneously at the start and end of CEI. Physiological parameters (oxygen saturation = O2 , heart rate = HR, systolic blood pressure = SBP, and temperature) were monitored throughout the 4-hour CEI...

Apoptosis plays prominent roles during organ development, maturation and homeostasis. In the retina, Bcl-2 family members function through the intrinsic cell death pathway with vital roles during vascular development and hyperoxia-mediated vessel obliteration during oxygen induced ischemic retinopathy (OIR). Bim, a BH3 only protein Bcl-2 family member, binds and activates Bax and/or Bak to facilitate apoptosis. In some systems deletion of both Bax and Bak are required to prevent cell loss, such as regression of ocular hyaloid vasculature...

Dysfunction of the extraorbital lacrimal gland (ELG) can lead to loss of vision due to damage to the epithelium of cornea. The broad-spectrum anti-epileptic drug sodium valproate (SV) has numerous side effects. Moringa oleifera (M.oleifera) is widely used as a food and in folk medicine. The effects of orally administered SV and M. oleifera hydroalcoholic leaf extract on rat ELG were investigated in this study by analysing both antioxidant and oxidant parameters. Additionally, boron level and tissue factor (TF) activity were determined...

Aniridia-associated keratopathy originates from a haploinsufficiency of the transcription factor PAX6 (PAX6+/- ). In the corneal epithelium of PAX6+/- mice, a significant increase in oxidized proteins was observed, accompanied by impaired compensation for elevated oxidative stress (OS). The extent to which limbal fibroblast cells (LFCs) are affected by an increased susceptibility to OS in cases of congenital aniridia (AN) has not been determined, yet. Our aim was to examine the impact of OS on antioxidant enzyme expression in normal and AN-LFCs...

Endothelial cells (ECs) display organ- and tissue-specific heterogeneity. In the eye, the retinal and choroidal vascular beds are distinct networks with different molecular and morphological properties that serve location-specific functions, i.e., the former maintaining a tight barrier and the latter, a permeable fenestrated vasculature. Given that retinal health critically relies on the function of these vascular beds and that their dysfunction is implicated in a variety of retinal diseases, a molecular understanding of both physiological and pathophysiological characteristics of these distinct vasculatures is critical...

In this study, we aimed to investigate the effects of the deficient antioxidative gene, nuclear factor-erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), on 17β-estradiol (E2 )-mediated oxidative stress response, with a specific focus on growth factor production and cell death in Müller cells and retinal tissue. Administration of hydrogen peroxide (H2 O2 ) reduced the viability of Müller cells derived from Nrf2 wild-type (WT) and knockout (KO) mice. However, this effect was more significant in the KO cells than in the WT cells...

Retinoblastoma is the most common intraocular tumor in children and is caused by biallelic inactivation of the RB1 gene. The identification of RB1 germline variants in patients with retinoblastoma and their families is critical for early diagnosis and prevention. In this study, genetic testing was conducted on the genomic DNA of 203 patients with retinoblastoma using a combined approach of direct sequencing and multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA) assays for genotype-phenotype correlation studies...

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a common metabolic disease associated with severe macrovascular and microvascular complications that influence nearly every tissue in the body, including the anterior and posterior segments of the eye. In the cornea, DM is associated with recurrent epithelial erosion and reduced wound-healing capacity, which increases the risk of corneal scarring. We previously developed a co-culture model of the cornea consisting of immortalized human corneal epithelial cells (hCE-TJ) overlaying a self-assembled stromal layer generated by human corneal fibroblasts (hCFs) over a 4-week period...