BACKGROUND 5-Fluorouracil, an antimetabolic agent, improves the success rate of trabeculectomies by inhibiting subconjunctival fibrosis. However, complications may be associated with early postoperative use. We investigated the outcome of needling revision with delayed subconjunctival 5-fluorouracil in failing filtering blebs after a trabeculectomy in patients with medically poorly controlled g...

Although animals mobilize their innate defenses against gram-negative bacteria when they sense the lipid A moiety of bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS), excessive responses to this conserved bacterial molecule can be harmful. Of the known ways for decreasing the stimulatory potency of LPS in blood, the binding and neutralization of LPS by plasma lipoproteins is most prominent. The mechanisms by...

15 Within the confines of tissues, cancer cells can use blebs to migrate. Eps8 is an actin bundling and 16 capping protein whose capping activity is inhibited by Erk, a key MAP kinase that is activated by 17 oncogenic signaling. We tested the hypothesis that Eps8 acts as an Erk effector to modulate actin 18 cortex mechanics and thereby mediate bleb-based migration of cancer cells. Cells confine...

OBJECTIVE To determine concentrations of ofloxacin and ciprofloxacin hydrochloride in aqueous humor after topical or combined topical and oral administration in eyes with filtering blebs. DESIGN A prospective, investigator-masked, randomized, controlled comparative study involving 36 eyes of 34 patients with functioning filtering blebs who were to undergo cataract surgery. Treatment groups re...

During gastrulation in Drosophila melanogaster, coordinated apical constriction of the cellular surface drives invagination of the mesoderm anlage. Forces generated by the cortical cytoskeletal network have a pivotal role in this cellular shape change. Here, we show that the organisation of cortical actin is essential for stabilisation of the cellular surface against contraction. We found that ...

Plasma membrane blebs are observed in many types of apoptotic cells, but their physiological roles remain to be clarified. We examined whether there is a causative connection between membrane blebbing and other apoptotic changes in Jurkat cells induced to undergo apoptosis by doxorubicin in the presence or absence of Y-27632, an inhibitor of the Rho kinase ROCK-I. The inclusion of the drug made...