PURPOSE In severe ocular surface diseases, pathologic keratinization of the ordinarily nonkeratinized corneal and conjunctival mucosal epithelia results in severe visual loss. The expression in conjunctivalized corneas of various proteins known to play important roles in the physiological keratinization process in human epidermis was examined to better understand the mechanism of keratinization...

PURPOSE Antigen (Ag)-presenting cells (APCs) participate in the development of allergic conjunctivitis (AC). However, the conjunctival APCs that take up Ag in AC have not been identified. We sought to clarify the phenotypes of conjunctival APCs that take up, process, and present Ag to T cells during the development of experimental AC. METHODS Splenocytes from naïve ovalbumin (OVA)-specific T ...

OBJECTIVE The Bcl6 gene encodes a sequence-specific transcriptional repressor and is ubiquitously expressed in adult murine tissues including heart muscle. The objective of this study was to examine the role of Bcl6 in cardiac myocytes. METHOD We developed Bcl6-deficient (Bcl6-/-) mice and histologically examined hearts from these mice. RESULTS Massive myocarditis with eosinophilic infiltra...

INTRODUCTION Massive gastrointestinal bleeding is an emergency that can sometimes require immediate surgery. We report the first case, to the best of our knowledge, of massive rectal bleeding due to Yersinia enterocolitica, requiring ileocecal resection. CASE PRESENTATION A 41-year-old North African woman was admitted to our emergency department for massive rectal bleeding. She had a history ...

The role of immunity in blinding trachoma is unclear. Conjunctival gene expression was measured in a population where trachoma is endemic. Proinflammatory (tumor necrosis factor alpha and interleukin-1beta [IL-1beta]), anti-inflammatory (IL-10), and fibrogenic (matrix metalloprotease 9) gene expression was increased in active trachoma. Markers indicative of T-cell response (gamma interferon, IL...

BACKGROUND The purpose of this research is to compare the histological and immunohistochemical changes induced by fixed combinations of timolol maleate and prostaglandin analogues in the rabbit conjunctiva. Thirty left eyes of rabbits, divided into three groups, were treated for 30 days with the following combinations of drugs: bimatoprost 0.03% + timolol 0.5%, travoprost 0.004% + timolol 0.5% ...

Dry eye is a highly prevalent, chronic, and multifactorial disease that compromises quality of life and generates socioeconomic burdens. The pathogenic factors of dry eye disease (DED) include tear secretion abnormalities, tear film instability, and ocular surface inflammation. An effective intervention targeting the pathogenic factors is needed to control this disease. Here we applied α-Melano...

BACKGROUND We showed previously that α-galactosylceramide (α-GalCer) treatment elevated splenic CD4+ CD25+Foxp3+ T-cell numbers and suppressed the development of experimental allergic conjunctivitis (EC). Here, we investigated whether CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ T cells mediate the suppressive effects of α-GalCer treatment on EC. METHODS To deplete CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ T cells, neonatal mice were thymectomize...

A 44-year-old Japanese woman visited our emergency department complaining of lightheadedness. On a physical examination, her palpebral conjunctivas were anemic. Laboratory data showed a low hemoglobin level (6.6 g/dL) and iron deficiency: her serum iron level was 11 μg/dL, and her ferritin level was 4.0 ng/mL. A fecal occult blood test was negative, and she was recommended to undergo a gynecolo...

PURPOSE To characterize quantitatively the paracellular permeation routes in rabbit cornea, conjunctiva, and sclera using polyethylene glycol (PEG) oligomers. METHODS Corneal, conjunctival, and scleral tissues from New Zealand white rabbits were tested individually in a modified two-chamber Ussing apparatus with the mixture of PEGs with mean molecular weights 200, 400, 600, and 1000 in glutat...