AIMS To assess the course of tear gland function of patients with keratoconjunctivitis sicca (KCS) associated with primary (KCS-PSS) or secondary Sjögren's syndrome (KCS-SSS), and of patients with KCS not related to Sjögren's syndrome (KCS-NS). METHODS In 106 patients with dry eye an ophthalmic diagnosis of KCS was made. Subsequent evaluations revealed a diagnosis of KCS-PSS in 31, KCS-SS in ...

BACKGROUND Previous methods for Kupffer cells (KCs) isolation require sophisticated skills and tedious procedures. Few studies have attempted to explore the self-renewal capacity of KCs in vitro. Therefore, the aim of this study was to establish a simple method for rat KCs isolation and further investigate the mitotic potential of KCs in vitro. METHODS KCs were obtained by performing one-step...

PURPOSE To examine the conjunctiva of patients with Sjögren's syndrome keratoconjunctivitis sicca (SS-KCS) and non-Sjögren's keratoconjunctivitis sicca (NS-KCS) for evidence of immune-based inflammation. METHODS Conjunctival biopsy specimens were obtained from 15 patients with SS-KCS and 15 with NS-KCS. Immunohistochemistry was performed on frozen sections to characterize and quantify T-cell ...

BACKGROUND Based on their localization, Kupffer cells (KCs) likely interact with hepatitis B virus (HBV). However, the role of KCs in inducing immunity toward HBV is poorly understood. Therefore, the interaction of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and KCs, and possible functional consequences, were assessed. METHODS KCs in liver tissue from patients with chronic HBV were analyzed for prese...

OBJECTIVES To compare conjunctival goblet cell numbers as well as epithelial turnover in patients with non-Sjögren syndrome--associated keratoconjunctivitis sicca (NSS-KCS) and those with SS-KCS before and after 6 months of treatment with topical cyclosporine A (CsA) ophthalmic emulsion. METHODS Conjunctival biopsy specimens from 16 patients with NSS-KCS and 12 with SS-KCS were obtained at ba...

BACKGROUND The role of Foxo3a in the regulation of autophagy flux and activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome in KCs suffering from HFD conditions is unknown. RESULTS Up-regulation of Foxo3a restored autophagy flux and dampened the activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome in KCs stimulated with PA and LPS. In contrast, down-regulation of Foxo3a increased blockage of autophagy flux and promoted NLRP3...

Silica nanoparticles (SiO2 NPs) have been shown to exert cytotoxic effects in hepato-cytes and to cause liver injury. In the liver, Kupffer cells (KCs), as the resident macrophages, play an important role in the normal physiology and homeostasis of the liver. Nevertheless, few studies have attempted to clarify the role of KCs in hepatic injury induced by SiO(2) NPs. In this study, we treated Bu...

NREM sleep is characterized by K-complexes (KCs), over the negative phase of which we identified brief activity in the theta range. We recorded high resolution EEG of whole-night sleep from seven healthy volunteers and visually identified 2nd and 3rd stage NREM spontaneous KCs. We identified three major categories: (1) KCs without intra-KC-activity (iKCa), (2) KCs with non-oscillatory iKCa, and...

K-complexes (KCs) are thought to play a key role in sleep homeostasis and memory consolidation; however, their generation and propagation remain unclear. The commonly held view from scalp EEG findings is that KCs are primarily generated in medial frontal cortex and propagate parietally, whereas an electrocorticography (ECOG) study suggested dorsolateral prefrontal generators and an absence of K...