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Details of the posterior eye water dynamics are unclear. Aquaporin-4 (AQP4), a water channel, plays an important role in water dynamics in the central nervous system and is also present in the ocular tissue. The purpose of this study was to reveal the role of AQP4 in the water dynamics of the posterior eye using in vivo JJ vicinal coupling proton exchange (JJVCPE) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of AQP4 knockout (KO) mice and their wild-type littermates (controls).

JJVCPE MRI of the eye was performed on five AQP4 KO mice and seven control mice. We assessed the normalized signal intensities of a region of interest (ROI) set in the vitreous body after H217O administration. The results of the two groups were compared using a two-tailed Mann-Whitney U test.

A statistical analysis revealed that the normalized ROI signal intensities at the steady state were significantly lower (P = 0.010, <0.05) in the AQP4 KO mice (mean ± SD, 84.5% ± 2.7%) than the controls (mean ± SD, 88.8% ± 1.9%).

The present study using JJVCPE MRI of the eye demonstrated that retinal AQP4 has a potential role in the regulation of water inflow into the vitreous body. Absence of AQP4 in the KO mice probably induces lower water outflow from the vitreous body. Our results could help clarify the pathogenesis of various ocular diseases.

The present study using JJVCPE MRI of the eye demonstrated that retinal AQP4 has a potential role in the regulation of water inflow into the vitreous body. Absence of AQP4 in the KO mice probably induces lower water outflow from the vitreous body. Our results could help clarify the pathogenesis of various ocular diseases.

Children with a history of prematurity often have poorly developed foveae but when during development foveal differences arise. We hypothesize that the course of foveal development is altered from the time of preterm birth.

Eyes of 102 preterm infants undergoing retinopathy of prematurity screening examinations in the STudy of Eye imaging in Premature infantS (BabySTEPS) (NCT02887157) were serially imaged between 30 and 42 weeks postmenstrual age (PMA) using handheld optical coherence tomography systems. Total retinal thickness, inner retinal layer (IRL) thickness, and outer retinal layer (ORL) thickness were measured at the foveal center and parafovea. Foveal put depth, IRL thickness, and ORL thickness were compared between infants born at different gestational ages using mixed effects models.

Foveal pit depth and IRL thickness were inversely related to gestational age; on average, the most premature infants had the thickest IRL and shallowest pits at all PMAs. Differences were evident by 30 weeks PMA pment that manifest within weeks of birth.

Amblyopes suffer a defect in temporal processing, presumably because of a neural delay in their visual processing. By measuring flash-lag effect (FLE), we investigate whether the amblyopic visual system could compensate for the intrinsic neural delay due to visual information transmissions from the retina to the cortex.

Eleven adults with amblyopia and 11 controls with normal vision participated in this study. We assessed the monocular FLE magnitude for each subject by using a typical FLE paradigm a bar moved horizontally, while a flashed bar briefly appeared above or below it. Three luminance contrasts of the flashed bar were tested 0.2, 0.6, and 1.

All participants, controls and those with amblyopia, showed a typical FLE. However, the FLE magnitude of participants with amblyopia was significantly shorter than that of the control participants, for both their amblyopic eye (AE) and fellow eye (FE). A nonsignificant difference was found in FLE magnitude between the AE and the FE.

We demonstrate a reduced FLE both in the AE as well as the FE of patients with amblyopia, suggesting a global visual processing deficit. We suggest it may be attributed to a more limited spatiotemporal extent of facilitatory anticipatory activity within the amblyopic primary visual cortex.

We demonstrate a reduced FLE both in the AE as well as the FE of patients with amblyopia, suggesting a global visual processing deficit. We suggest it may be attributed to a more limited spatiotemporal extent of facilitatory anticipatory activity within the amblyopic primary visual cortex.

Galectin-1/LGALS1, a β-galactoside-binding protein, contributes to angiogenesis and fibrosis in various ocular diseases. Selleckchem CL316243 Hypoxia-dependent and -independent pathways upregulate galectin-1/LGALS1 expression in Müller glial cells. Here, we present novel findings on the galectin-1/LGALS1 regulatory system in human retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells, the major cellular participant in the pathogenesis of neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD).

Human RPE cells were used to evaluate changes in gene and protein expression with real-time quantitative PCR and immunoblot analyses, respectively. The promoter and enhancer regions of LGALS1 were analyzed by reporter assay and chromatin immunoprecipitation. Immunofluorescence analysis of nAMD patient specimens was used to confirm the in vitro findings.

Hypoxia induced galectin-1/LGALS1 expression via binding of hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α) to hypoxia-responsive elements in the LGALS1 promoter region. Blockade of vascular endothelial growth facts and the autoinduction of hypoxia-induced PlGF as a vicious cycle amplifying the pathogenesis of nAMD.Ethiopian mustard (Brassica carinata) in the Brassicaceae family possesses many excellent agronomic traits. Here, the high-quality genome sequence of B. carinata is reported. Characterization revealed a genome anchored to 17 chromosomes with a total length of 1.087 Gb and an N50 scaffold length of 60 Mb. Repetitive sequences account for approximately 634 Mb or 58.34% of the B. carinata genome. Notably, 51.91% of 97,149 genes are confined to the terminal 20% of chromosomes as a result of the expansion of repeats in pericentromeric regions. Brassica carinata shares one whole-genome triplication event with the five other species in U’s triangle, a classic model of evolution and polyploidy in Brassica. Brassica carinata was deduced to have formed ∼0.047 Mya, which is slightly earlier than B. napus but later than B. juncea. Our analysis indicated that the relationship between the two subgenomes (BcaB and BcaC) is greater than that between other two tetraploid subgenomes (BjuB and BnaC) and their respective diploid parents.