Current Molecular Medicine - Volume 10, Issue 9, 2010

Some years ago, I attended a research conference on the macular degeneration in the John Hopkins Medical Center where I obtained a set of textbooks named ‘Principles and Practice of Ophthalmology (second edition)’ by Daniel A. Albert and Frederick A. Jakobiec. Of 6 volumes, the longest one deals with the basic sciences of ophthalmology, which contains over 1400 pages in 119 chapters by over 150 authors. If you Read More

Heat shock proteins (Hsps) are expressed in mammalian embryonic, adult and aging lens, cornea and retina. These proteins, particularly those belonging to the family of small Hsps, such as αA-crystallin (HspB4) and αB-crystallin (HspB5), play important roles in the differentiation of lens cells and are essential for the maintenance and protection of the supraorganization of proteins in differentiated corneal and lens fiber cells. H Read More

SUMOylation, a posttranslational modification process in which SUMO, the small ubiquitin-related modifier or small ubiquitin-like modifier, is added to the target proteins, plays an important role in regulating a variety of cellular processes including protein-protein interactions, subcellular localization, protein-DNA interactions and enzyme activity. This process adds another layer of control in eukaryote gene expression, and Read More

Retinal pigment epithelial cells (RPE) constitute a simple layer of cuboidal cells that are strategically situated behind the photoreceptor (PR) cells. The inconspicuousness of this monolayer contrasts sharply with its importance [1]. The relationship between the RPE and PR cells is crucial to sight; this is evident from basic and clinical studies demonstrating that primary dysfunctioning of the RPE can result in visual cell death and bli Read More

Glaucoma is a group of progressive optic neuropathies in which the axons in the optic nerve are injured, retinal ganglion cell numbers are reduced and vision is gradually and permanently lost. The only approved and effective way to treat glaucoma is to reduce the intraocular pressure (IOP). This is usually accomplished by surgical and/or pharmacological means. Drugs designed to reduce IOP target one or more of the param Read More

The stem cells (SCs) of the corneal epithelium located in the limbal basal layer are the ultimate source to maintain corneal epithelial homeostasis. Like other adult tissue-specfic SCs, self renewal and fate decision of limbal SCs are regulated by a specialized in vivo microenvironment, termed “niche”. Loss of limbal SCs or dysfunction of the limbal niche renders corneas with a unique clinical disease labeled limbal stem cell defic Read More

In the last decade or so, increasing evidences suggest that the mutations of two connexin genes, GJA3 and GJA8, are directly linked to human congenital cataracts in North and Central America, Europe and Asia. GIA3 and GIA8 genes encode gap junction-forming proteins, connexin (Cx) 46 and Cx50, respectively. These two connexins are predominantly expressed in lens fiber cells. Majority of identified mutations are missen Read More

The ocular lens is a non-vascular and non-innervated transparent organ that plays an important role in vision processing. This unique organ is derived from the embryonic ectoderm of the brain region through a complicated differentiation process in which apoptosis plays a key role. First, when the committed ectoderm becomes thickened and invaginated, the defined number of cells required to form the lens vesicle is part Read More