Electroretinographic and Optical Coherence Tomographic Evaluations of Eyes with Vitreoretinal Lymphoma.

Vitreoretinal lymphomas (VRLs) present with different clinical characteristics. However, only a few case reports have been published that evaluated the retinal function and the retinal morphology. The relationship between retinal morphology and function of eyes with a vitreoretinal lymphoma (VRL) was investigated via optical coherence tomography (OCT) and electroretinography (ERG). The ERG and OCT findings in 11 eyes of 11 patients (69.4 ± 11.5 years old) who were diagnosed with VRL at the Saitama Medical University Hospital between December 2016 to May 2022 were studied. The decimal best-corrected visual acuity ranged from hand movements to 1.2 (median 0.2). Histopathological studies of the vitreous specimens showed class II VRL in one eye, class III VRL in seven eyes, class IV VRL in two eyes, and class V VRL in one eye. The IgH gene rearrangement was positive in three of the six eyes tested. The OCT images showed morphological abnormalities in 10 of the 11 (90.9%) eyes. Severe attenuation was found for the amplitudes of the b-wave of the DA 0.01 ERG in 6 of 11 eyes (54.5%), the DA 3.0 a-wave in 5 of 11 eyes (45.5%), the DA 3.0 b-wave in 36.4%, the LA 3.0 a-wave in 36.4%, the LA 3.0 b-wave in 18.2%, and flicker responses in 36.4% of the eyes. None of the DA 3.0 ERGs had a negative shape (b/a < 1.0). In the five eyes in which the a-wave was severely attenuated, hyperreflective dots were observed subretinally. The ERG analysis in eyes with a VRL indicates a relatively severe dysfunction of the outer retinal layer and was helpful in determining the site of the morphological changes in eyes with VRL.

Early changes in photopic negative response in eyes with glaucoma with and without choroidal detachment after filtration surgery.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: To evaluate the electroretinographic (ERG) changes in the early postoperative period following glaucoma filtration surgery, and its relationship with choroidal detachment (CD). METHODS: This retrospective observational single-centre study included 57 consecutive patients with primary open-angle glaucoma who underwent unilateral glaucoma filtration surgery. The patients were divided into two groups according to the presence or absence of CD. ERG components, including the photopic negative response (PhNR), a-wave and b-wave were compared before and after surgery using skin electrodes. RESULTS: There were 46 patients in the non-CD group and 11 in the CD group. ERG was recorded within 5.1 (2.1 to 8.1) (mean (95% CI)) days after surgery. In the non-CD group, the PhNR amplitude, PhNR/b-wave amplitude ratio and PhNR implicit time improved significantly after surgery (p=0.008, 0.002 and 0.039, respectively). In the CD group, the amplitude of the PhNR, a-wave and b-wave were significantly deteriorated after surgery (p=0.002, 0.001 and 0.001, respectively). Postoperative intraocular pressure (IOP) (p=0.031) and postoperative CD (p<0.001) were significantly associated with change in the PhNR amplitude in the univariate models. In the multivariate analysis, severe CD (stage 3) cases tended to be deteriorated more. CONCLUSION: Even in the early postoperative period within several days, the PhNR amplitude increased with IOP lowering following filtration surgery in the absence of CD. The presence of CD may arrest the improvement of the retinal ganglion cell function. The present results enhance understanding the structural and functional recovery after glaucoma surgery and the role of postoperative CD.

"Candidatus Mesenet longicola": Novel Endosymbionts of Brontispa longissima that Induce Cytoplasmic Incompatibility.

Intracellular bacteria that are mainly transmitted maternally affect their arthropod hosts' biology in various ways. One such effect is known as cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI), and three bacterial species are known to induce CI: Wolbachia, Cardinium hertigii, and a recently found alphaproteobacterial symbiont. To clarify the taxonomic status and provide the foundation for future studies to reveal CI mechanisms and other phenotypes, we investigated genetic and morphological properties of the third CI inducer that we have previously reported inducing CI in the coconut beetle Brontispa longissima. The draft genome of the bacteria was obtained from the oocytes of two isofemale lines of B. longissima infected with the bacteria: one from Japan (GL2) and the other from Vietnam (L5). Genome features of the symbionts (sGL2 and sL5) were highly similar, showing 1.3 Mb in size, 32.1% GC content, and 99.83% average nucleotide sequence. A phylogenetic study based on 43 universal and single-copy phylogenetic marker genes indicates that they formed a distinct clade in the family Anaplasmataceae. 16S rRNA gene sequences indicate that they are different from the closest known relatives, at least at the genus level. Therefore, we propose a new genus and species, "Candidatus Mesenet longicola", for the symbionts of B. longissima. Morphological analyses showed that Ca. M. longicola is an intracellular bacterium that is ellipsoidal to rod-shaped and 0.94 ± 0.26 µm (mean ± SD) in length, and accumulated in the anterior part of the oocyte. Candidates for the Ca. M. longicola genes responsible for CI induction are also described.

Pattern Visually Evoked Potentials in Japanese Girl With Optic Neuritis and Seropositive to Anti-myelin Oligodendrocyte Glycoprotein (MOG) Antibody.

Purpose: To describe a Japanese girl with unilateral optic neuritis who was seropositive for the anti-myelin-oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG). Serial recordings of the pattern visual evoked potentials (pVEPs) were made to follow the dynamic changes of the disease activity. Observations: A 5-year-old girl developed a sudden reduction of vision and deep ocular pain in her right eye. On examination at our university hospital, the best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was light perception, and a swelling of the optic disc and tortuous vessels at the posterior pole of the right eye were observed. MRI demonstrated that her right optic nerve was hyperintense on short TI inversion recovery (STIR) sequence. A diagnosis of right papillitis was made, and she was treated with steroid pulse therapy followed by a gradual tapering of oral prednisolone. The visual acuity decreased to no light perception and plasmapheresis combined with high-dose intravenous immunoglobulin therapy was performed. The decimal visual acuity rapidly improved and recovered to 1.2, and no recurrence was observed for at least 1 year. On day 19, she was found to be anti-MOG antibody positive and anti-Aquaporin 4 antibody negative. pVEPs were recorded during the course of the disease process which showed the dynamic changes of the physiology of the visual pathways. The implicit times of the N75 and P100 components were prolonged in the right eye in the acute phase. The right visual acuity remained at 1.2 for at least 1 year, but the implicit times of the N75 and P100 components of the pVEPs of the right eye were still prolonged compared to left eye. Conclusion: Our findings indicate a positive relationship between the anti-MOG antibodies-positivity and the prolonged pVEPs. Further analyses of the pVEPs and other clinical findings of the optic neuritis are needed to establish the clinical significance of the anti-MOG antibodies positivity and optic neuritis for the diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis for this disease.

Unique clade of alphaproteobacterial endosymbionts induces complete cytoplasmic incompatibility in the coconut beetle.

Maternally inherited bacterial endosymbionts in arthropods manipulate host reproduction to increase the fitness of infected females. Cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI) is one such manipulation, in which uninfected females produce few or no offspring when they mate with infected males. To date, two bacterial endosymbionts, Wolbachia and Cardinium, have been reported as CI inducers. Only Wolbachia induces complete CI, which causes 100% offspring mortality in incompatible crosses. Here we report a third CI inducer that belongs to a unique clade of Alphaproteobacteria detected within the coconut beetle, Brontispa longissima This beetle comprises two cryptic species, the Asian clade and the Pacific clade, which show incompatibility in hybrid crosses. Different bacterial endosymbionts, a unique clade of Alphaproteobacteria in the Pacific clade and Wolbachia in the Asian clade, induced bidirectional CI between hosts. The former induced complete CI (100% mortality), whereas the latter induced partial CI (70% mortality). Illumina MiSeq sequencing and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis patterns showed that the predominant bacterium detected in the Pacific clade of B. longissima was this unique clade of Alphaproteobacteria alone, indicating that this endosymbiont was responsible for the complete CI. Sex distortion did not occur in any of the tested crosses. The 1,160 bp of 16S rRNA gene sequence obtained for this endosymbiont had only 89.3% identity with that of Wolbachia, indicating that it can be recognized as a distinct species. We discuss the potential use of this bacterium as a biological control agent.

A comparison of artificial diets for mass rearing Brontispa longissima (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) as hosts for the larval and the pupal parasitoids.

The coconut hispine beetle, Brontispa longissima (Gestro) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) is a serious pest of coconut palm. In this study, we developed an artificial diet for B. longissima so that the beetle could be used as a host for rearing two of its parasitoids, Asecodes hispinarum Boucek (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) and Tetrastichus brontispae Ferrière (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae). The new artificial diet represents an improvement of our previous diet, which we used as a control. When beetle larvae were reared on the new diet, which contains cysteine but not cellulose powder and has twice as much coconut leaf powder as in the control, the adult emergence was 71% (approximately 2 times that in the control). We also examined the suitability of beetles fed on the new diet as hosts for the larval parasitoid A. hispinarum and the pupal parasitoid T. brontispae. The percentage of wasps that emerged from hosts that were fed the new diet was higher than that from the control-fed hosts. The new diet allowed both A. hispinarum and T. brontispae to produce adult wasps of the next generation, whereas the control only allowed T. brontispae to produce the next generation. These results suggest that the new diet is suitable for B. longissima and will facilitate mass-rearing of A. hispinarum and T. brontispae.