Inhibition of LOX-1 alleviates the proinflammatory effects of high-mobility group box 1 in Aspergillus fumigatus keratitis.

AIM: To investigate the inflammatory amplification effect of high-mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) in Aspergillus fumigatus (A. fumigatus) keratitis and the relationship between lectin-like oxidized low-density lipoprotein receptor 1 (LOX-1) and HMGB1 in keratitis immune responses. METHODS: Phosphate buffer saline (PBS), and Boxb were injected into BALB/c mice subconjunctivally before the corneas were infected with A. fumigatus. RAW264.7 macrophages and neutrophils were pretreated with PBS and Boxb to determine the HMGB1 inflammatory amplification effects. Abdominal cavity extracted macrophages were pretreated with Boxb and Poly (I) (a LOX-1 inhibitor) before A. fumigatus hyphae stimulation to prove the the relationship between the two molecules. LOX-1, interleukin-1ß (IL-1ß), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), macrophage inflammatory protein-2 (MIP-2) and IL-10 were assessed by polymerase chain reaction and Western blot. RESULTS: Pretreatment with Boxb exacerbated corneal inflammation. In macrophages and neutrophils, A. fumigatus induced LOX-1, IL-1ß, TNF-α and MIP-2 expression in Boxb group was higher than those in PBS group. Poly (I) treatments before infection alleviated the proinflammatory effects of Boxb in abdominal cavity extracted macrophages. Pretreatment with Boxb did not influence Dectin-1 mRNA levels in macrophages and neutrophils. CONCLUSION: In fungal keratitis, HMGB1 is a proinflammatory factor in the first line of immune response. HMGB1 mainly stimulates neutrophils and macrophages to produce inflammatory cytokines and chemokines during the immune response. LOX-1 participates in HMGB1 induced inflammatory exacerbation in A. fumigatus keratitis.

Form-deprivation myopia induces decreased expression of bone morphogenetic protein-2, 5 in guinea pig sclera.

AIM: To identify the presence of various bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) and their receptors in normal sclera of human, rat and guinea pigs, and to determine whether their expression changed with form-deprivation myopia (FDM) in guinea pig sclera. METHODS: The expression of BMPs and BMP receptors were detected using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and immunofluorescence. Two-week-old guinea pigs were monocularly form-deprived with a translucent lens. After fourteen days induction of FDM, total RNA was isolated and subjected to RT-PCR to examine the changes of BMPs and BMP receptors in tissues from the posterior sclera. Western blotting analysis was used to investigate their changes in protein levels. RESULTS: Human sclera expressed mRNAs for BMP-2, -4, -5, -7, -RIA, -RIB and BMP-RII. Conversely, rat sclera only expressed mRNA for BMP-7 and BMP-RIB, while the expression of BMPs and BMP receptors in guinea pigs were similar to that of humans. Human sclera also expresses BMP-2, -4, -5,-7 in protein level. Fourteen days after the induction of myopia, significant decreased expressions for BMP-2 and BMP-5 in the posterior sclera of FDM-affected eyes (P<0.05 vs internal control eyes). CONCLUSION: Various BMPs were expressed in human and guinea pig sclera. In the posterior sclera, expressions of BMP-2 and BMP-5 significantly decreased in FDM eyes. This finding indicates that various BMPs as components of the scleral cytokines regulating tissue homeostasis and provide evidence that alterations in the expression of BMP-2 and BMP-5 are associated with sclera remodeling during myopia induction.

[Clinical observation of visual quality after implantation of toric intraocular lens].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the visual quality after implantation of Acrysof toric intraocular lens (IOL) in cataract patients. METHODS: Eighty eyes (60 patients) had implantation of Acrysof toric IOL in our hospital between Oct. 2009 and Sep. 2010. The patients were divided into four groups according to the toric models (T3, T4 and T5). The uncorrected visual acuity (UCVA), best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), residual cylinders, contrast sensitivity, high order aberration and IOL axis were evaluated preoperatively and 3 months postoperatively. Sixty-five eyes (45 patients) had implantation of Acrysof Natural IOL. RESULTS: The UCVA improved in the toric groups three months postoperatively. The UCVA of group T5b was lower than that of the other three groups. The UCVA of toric group was (0.19 ± 0.14) which was better than that of the control group (t = 4.04, P < 0.05). The residual cylinder was (1.69 ± 0.68) D in group T5b, which was statistically different from the other three groups. The residual cylinder of the toric group was (0.51 ± 0.78) D, which was much lower than the control group (t = 2.54, P < 0.05). The difference of contrast sensitivity between the four toric groups was not statistically significant. The low-order aberration and coma of group T5b was higher than that of the other three groups. The difference of contrast sensitivity between the toric group and the control group was not statistically significant. The low-order aberration and coma of the toric group were lower than those of the control group. The IOLs in 67 eyes (83.75%) rotated less than 5 degrees and all IOLs rotated less than 10 degrees. CONCLUSION: Implantation of the AcrySof toric IOL proves to be an effective, safe, and stable method of managing corneal astigmatism in cataract patients and provides good visual quality.