We report a case of tectonic corneal transplantation for impending corneal perforation to preserve anatomic integrity using cryopreserved donor tissue. An 82-year-old woman exhibiting impending corneal perforation suffered from moderate ocular pain in the left eye for one week. After abnormal tissues around the impending perforation area were carefully peeled away using a Crescent blade and Van...

MAPKKK dual leucine zipper-bearing kinases (DLKs) are regulators of synaptic development and axon regeneration. The mechanisms underlying their activation are not fully understood. Here, we show that C. elegans DLK-1 is activated by a Ca(2+)-dependent switch from inactive heteromeric to active homomeric protein complexes. We identify a DLK-1 isoform, DLK-1S, that shares identical kinase and leu...

We report the case of a patient diagnosed with Avellino corneal dystrophy (ACD) who developed diffuse interstitial keratitis following excimer laser insitu keratomileusis (LASIK). ACD is an autosomal dominant corneal dystrophy characterized by multiple asymmetric stromal opacities that impair vision. Accepted treatments for this condition include corneal transplantation and phototherapeutic ker...

The purpose of this report is to describe a case of Cogan’s syndrome (CS) with atypical ophthalmic features, such as diffuse anterior scleritis and bilateral peripheral ulcerative keratitis. The article also discusses the clinical aspects, treatment and prognosis of this rare disease. A 66-year-old woman presented with bilateral a symmetric diffuse anterior scleritis and peripheral ulcerative k...

Hepatoblasts are common progenitors for hepatocytes and biliary epithelial cells, although their nature remains largely unknown. In order to isolate and to characterize hepatoblasts, we searched for cell surface antigens expressed in mouse fetal hepatic cells by the signal sequence trap method and found that Dlk, also known as Pref-1, was strongly expressed in fetal liver. Immunohistochemical a...

THE clinical features of interstitial keratitis-a fast disappearing diseaseare well known and so definite as to enable not only ophthalmologists but clinicians in general to arrive at a correct topographical if not aetiological diagnosis. That there are atypical forms of almost all diseases is indisputable and the following case report appears justifiable because of its close mimicry of Mooren'...

Activation of mitogen-activated protein kinase pathways is critically involved in naturally occurring programmed cell death of motoneurons during development, but the upstream mediators remain undetermined. We found that mice deficient in ZPK, also called DLK (ZPK/DLK), an upstream kinase in these pathways, have twice as many spinal motoneurons as do their wild-type littermates. Nuclear HB9/MNX...