Elevated amounts of myocilin in the aqueous humor of transgenic mice cause significant changes in ocular gene expression

Analysis of Multifactor-Driven Myopia Disease Modules to Guide Personalized Treatment and Drug Development

Myopia is recognized as a multifactor, multicascade complex disease. However, people still know little about the pathogenesis of myopia. Therefore, we aim to guide the personalized treatment, drug research, and development of myopia. Here, based on the interaction network of myopia-related genes, this study constructed a multifactor-driven myopia disease module map. We first identified differentially expressed (DE) miRNAs in myopia. Then, we constructed a myopia-related protein interaction network targeted by these DE miRNAs. Further, we clustered the network into modules and identified module-driven factors, including ncRNAs and transcription factors. Especially, miR-16-5p and miR-34b-5p significantly differentially expressed drive the pathogenic module to influence the progression of myopia. At the same time, transcription factors were involved in myopia-related functions and pathways by regulating the expression of genes in modules, such as Ctnnb1, Myc, and Notch1. In addition, we identified 43 genes in modules that played key roles in the development and progression of myopia such as Vamp2, Egfr, and Wasl. Finally, we constructed a comprehensive multifactor-driven myopia pathogenic module landscape and predicted potential drug and drug targets for myopia. In general, our work not only provided candidates for biological experiments which laid the foundation for the in-depth study of myopia but also has a high reference value for the personalized treatment of myopia and drug development.

A novel role for the ADHD risk gene latrophilin-3 in learning and memory in Lphn3 knockout rats

Latrophilins (LPHNs) are adhesion G protein-coupled receptors with three isoforms but only LPHN3 is brain specific (caudate, prefrontal cortex, dentate, amygdala, and cerebellum). Variants of LPHN3 are associated with ADHD. Null mutations of Lphn3 in rat, mouse, zebrafish, and Drosophila result in hyperactivity, but its role in learning and memory (L&M) is largely unknown. Using our Lphn3 knockout (KO) rats we examined the cognitive abilities, long-term potentiation (LTP) in CA1, NMDA receptor expression, and neurohistology from heterozygous breeding pairs. KO rats were impaired in egocentric L&M in the Cincinnati water maze, spatial L&M and cognitive flexibility in the Morris water maze (MWM), with no effects on conditioned freezing, novel object recognition, or temporal order recognition. KO-associated locomotor hyperactivity had no effect on swim speed. KO rats had reduced early-LTP but not late-LTP and had reduced hippocampal NMDA-NR1 expression. In a second experiment, KO rats responded to a light prepulse prior to an acoustic startle pulse, reflecting visual signal detection. In a third experiment, KO rats given extra MWM pretraining and hidden platform overtraining showed no evidence of reaching WT rats' levels of learning. Nissl histology revealed no structural abnormalities in KO rats. LPHN3 has a selective effect on egocentric and allocentric L&M without effects on conditioned freezing or recognition memory.

Data mining-based study of collagen type III alpha 1 (COL3A1) prognostic value and immune exploration in pan-cancer

The extracellular matrix (ECM) shows an essential effect during the occurrence and procession of human cancers. Type III collagen is a crucial component of ECM. Collagen Type III Alpha 1(COL3A1) is aberrantly expressed in a variety of cancers. Nevertheless, the role of COL3A1 in pan-cancer stays unidentified. In this study, we explored public databases, including Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), GTEx, GEPIA, cBioPortal, Oncommine, TIMER and GENEMANIA databases to identify the differential expression of COL3A1 in human cancer tissues and normal samples, followed by its prognostic value for patient survival. In addition, we explore the association between COL3A1 expression and immune infiltration. Further, we used the GeneMANIA database and Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) to investigate Protein–Protein Interaction (PPI) and gene functional enrichment. Results show that COL3A1 expressed higher in tumor samples than in normal samples. Upregulation of COL3A1 is associated with a worse prognosis and a more advanced cancer stage. COL3A1 expression shows significant positive correlations with tumor-infiltrating immune cells (TIICs), including neutrophils, macrophages, CD8 + T cells, CD4 + T cells, dendritic cells, and B cells. Markers of TIICs demonstrated distinct patterns of COL3A1-related immune infiltration. COL3A1 expression was associated with ECM receptor interaction, regulation of actin cytoskeleton and focal adhesion pathways via GSEA analysis. In conclusion, COL3A1 may be a molecular biomarker for prognosis and immune infiltration in pan-cancer. It might act as a potential target for a new insight of human cancers management.

The clinical significance of spondin 2 eccentric expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells in bronchial asthma

Background

Bronchial asthma (BA) was a heterogeneous disease characterized by chronic airway inflammation. Spondin 2 (SPON2) was reported to be implicated in the integrin pathway, protein metabolism, and drug‐induced lupus erythematosus. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the significance of SPON2 in BA diagnosis and treatment.

Methods

Peripheral blood samples were obtained from 137 BA pediatric patients (61 mild‐to‐moderate BA and 76 severe BA) and 59 healthy children. Subject's information, clinical indexes, pulmonary ventilation functions were recorded in the two groups. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were isolated from patients’ samples. qRT‐PCR and ELISA assays were employed to examine the levels of SPON2 and inflammatory cytokines, respectively. Pearson's correlation analysis confirmed the association between SPON2 and inflammatory cytokines. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was used to evaluate the potentials of SPON2 in terms of BA detection and discriminating against the severity of BA.

Results

Bioinformatics analysis showed that SPON2, OLFM4, XIST, and TSIX were significantly upregulated, while KDM5D and RPS4Y1 were reduced in BA. GO analysis verified that these six genes were mainly involved in neutrophil degranulation, neutrophil activation involved in immune response, neutrophil activation, and neutrophil‐mediated immunity. After isolating PBMCs, we found that SPON2 was remarkably increased in BA pediatric group compared with healthy children, and the relative levels of SPON2 were related to the severity of BA. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis revealed the high potentials of SPON2 in BA diagnosis (AUC was 0.8080) and severity distinctions (AUCs were 0.7341 and 0.8541, respectively). Also, we found that there were significant differences in fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO), forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1)%, FEV1/ forced vital capacity (FVC)%, immunoglobulin E (IgE), serum eosinophils, and serum neutrophils between mild‐to‐moderate BA group and severe BA group. Finally, SPON2 was negatively correlated with IL‐12 while positively associated with IL‐4, IL‐13, and IL‐17A.

Conclusions

SPON2 was a viable biomarker for diagnosing and degree of severity in BA, providing more insight into exploring BA and treatment's pathogenesis.

Tissue Expression Of LPHN3 in Breast Cancer: An Immunohistochemistry Method

OBJECTIVE

Breast cancer is one of the most important public health problems among women worldwide. It is a major cause of morbidity especially among women in developing countries including Thailand. The purpose of this study was to study the expression of LPHN3 protein in normal breast tissue compared to breast cancer tissue.

METHODS

We had studied the expression of LPHN3 in 65 breast tissues using an immunohistochemistry method. The association between LPHN3 expression and breast cancer metastasis to nearby axillary lymph nodes was also examined.

RESULTS

Among the 65 breast cancer and normal breast tissues examined, LPHN3 expression with an immunohistochemistry index (IHC index) greater than 4 was more frequently found in breast cancer tissues than in normal breast tissues (P-value = 0.001, OR (95% CI) = 7.04 (2.16-23)). Moreover, a high expression of LPHN3 (IHC index > 4) was more frequently found in breast cancer tissues with negative axillary lymph nodes than in those with positive ones (P-value = 0.038, OR (95% CI) = 0.25 (0.07-0.96)). LPHN3 protein might be a new metastasis suppressor gene in breast cancer and a marker for breast cancer metastasis prevention.

CONCLUSIONS

The present study indicated that a decrease of LPHN3 protein expression in breast cancer tissue might be a marker indicating the aggressiveness of breast cancer. These results also suggested that a decrease of LPHN3 expression could be functionally involved in breast cancer progression and metastasis.

Olfactomedin-like 3: possible functions in embryonic development and tumorigenesis

Objective:

Modern medical research has proven that human diseases are directly or indirectly related to genes. At the same time, genetic research has also brought updates to diagnostic techniques. Olfactomedin-like 3 (OLFML3) gene is a novel and clinically valuable gene. In order to better understand the role of OLFML3 in human diseases, we discuss and analyze the characteristics, function, and regulation mechanism of the OLFML3 gene in this review.

Data sources:

A comprehensive search in PubMed and ScienceDirect database for English up to March 2019, with the keywords of “Olfactomedin-like 3,” “Olfactomedin,” “extracellular matrix,” “Transforming Growth Factor β1,” “anoikis-resistance,” and “microRNA-155.”

Study selection:

Careful review of all relevant literature, the references of the retrieved articles were also screened to search for potentially relevant papers.

Results:

OLFML3 is a secreted glycoprotein with 406 amino acid residues, belonging to the Olfactomedin (OLF) family. Due to the particularity of its structure and differential expression, OLFML3 has unique biological functions that could be distinct from other members in the OLF family. The currently known functions include embryonic development function and tumorigenesis. The regulation mechanism is still under investigation. It is directly related to many human diseases.

Conclusions:

OLFML3 is a multifunctional glycoprotein that is closely involved in embryonic development, tumor invasion, and metastasis. Unfortunately, current research on this important molecule is still very limited. Further investigations on the possible mechanism of OLFML3 biological functions and modulation will help us develop better diagnostics and treatments.

Arginine to Glutamine Variant in Olfactomedin Like 3 (OLFML3) Is a Candidate for Severe Goniodysgenesis and Glaucoma in the Border Collie Dog Breed

Goniodysgenesis is a developmental abnormality of the anterior chamber of the eye. It is generally considered to be congenital in dogs (Canis lupus familiaris), and has been associated with glaucoma and blindness. Goniodysgenesis and early-onset glaucoma initially emerged in Border Collies in Australia in the late 1990s and have subsequently been found in this breed in Europe and the USA. The objective of the present study was to determine the genetic basis of goniodysgenesis in Border Collies. Clinical diagnosis was based on results of examinations by veterinary ophthalmologists of affected and unaffected dogs from eleven different countries. Genotyping using the Illumina high density canine single nucleotide variant genotyping chip was used to identify a candidate genetic region. There was a highly significant peak of association over chromosome 17, with a p-value of 2 × 10-13 Expression profiles and evolutionary conservation of candidate genes were assessed using public databases. Whole genome sequences of three dogs with glaucoma, three severely affected by goniodysgenesis and three unaffected dogs identified a missense variant in the olfactomedin like 3 (OLFML3) gene in all six affected animals. This was homozygous for the risk allele in all nine cases with glaucoma and 12 of 14 other severely affected animals. Of 67 reportedly unaffected animals, only one was homozygous for this variant (offspring of parents both with goniodysgenesis who were also homozygous for the variant). Analysis of pedigree information was consistent with an autosomal recessive mode of inheritance for severe goniodysgenesis (potentially leading to glaucoma) in this breed. The identification of a candidate genetic region and putative causative variant will aid breeders to reduce the frequency of goniodysgenesis and the risk of glaucoma in the Border Collie population.

Epithelial but not stromal expression of collagen alpha-1(III) is a diagnostic and prognostic indicator of colorectal carcinoma

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common cancer in males and the second in females worldwide with very poor prognosis. Collagen alpha-1(III) (COL3A1) gene, encoding an extracellular matrix protein, is upregulated in human cancers. Here, we revealed that COL3A1 was increased in CRC by analysis of five Oncomine gene expression datasets (n = 496). Immunohistochemistry analysis of a tissue microarray (n = 90) demonstrated that cancer epithelial but not stromal COL3A1 was significantly upregulated comparing with the normal counterparts. High COL3A1 mRNA and/or protein expression was accompanied with high stage, T stage, Dukes stage, grade and older age, as well as smoking and recurrence status. Upregulated COL3A1 predicted poor overall (p = 0.003) and disease-free (p = 0.025) survival. Increased epithelial but not stromal COL3A1 protein predicted worse outcome (p = 0.03). Older patients (age>65) with high COL3A1 had worse survival than younger (age≤65) with high COL3A1. Plasma COL3A1 was increased in CRC patients (n = 86) by 5.4 fold comparing with healthy individuals, enteritis and polyps patients. Plasma COL3A1 had an area under curve (AUC) of 0.92 and the best sensitivity/specificity of 98.8%/69.1%. While plasma CEA had a poorer prediction power (AUC = 0.791, sensitivity/selectivity = 70.2%/73.0%). Older patients (age≥60) had higher plasma COL3A1 than younger patients. The epithelial COL3A1 protein had an AUC of 0.975 and the best sensitivity/specificity of 95.2%/91.1%. Silencing of COL3A1 suppressed CRC cell proliferation in in vitro MTT assay and in in vivo Zebra fish xenograft model by downregulation of PI3K/AKT and WNT signaling. COL3A1 was a novel diagnosis and prognosis marker of CRC.

Effects of transforming growth factor-β2 on myocilin expression and secretion in human primary cultured trabecular meshwork cells

High intraocular pressure (IOP) is a risk factor for primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG). The trabecular meshwork (TM), a reticular tissue in the outflow passage of the aqueous humor (AH), is a major contributor to intraocular outflow resistance. High levels of myocilin (MYOC), which is expressed in the TM, are associated with high IOP. Furthermore, transforming growth factor-β2 (TGF-β2) concentrations in human AH are significantly elevated in POAG patients. This study was designed to investigate the effects of TGF-β2 on MYOC expression and secretion in human primary cultured TM cells. Primary cultured human TM cells were treated with 0 (control group), 1, 10, and 100 ng/mL TGF-β2 for 12, 24, or 48 h. MYOC mRNA and protein expressions in TM cells and protein secretion in conditioned media were analyzed by semi-quantitative RT-PCR, Western blotting, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA), respectively. TM cells treated with 1, 10, and, 100 ng/mL TGF-β2 for 48 h showed higher MYOC mRNA and protein expressions than those in the control group (0 ng/mL TGF-β2) (all P < 0.05). Treatment with TGF-β2 for 48 h also induced MYOC secretion in conditioned media in a dose-dependent manner (0 ng/mL: 7.107±1.163 pg/ml; 1 ng/mL: 7.879±1.894 pg/ml; 10 ng/mL: 8.063±1.181 pg/ml; 100 ng/mL: 8.902±0.699 pg/ml; all P < 0.05). In Conclusion, TGF-β2 induced MYOC expression and secretion in human primary cultured TM cells. Further investigations are required to confirm the involvement of these two factors in POAG pathogenesis.

Myocilin modulates programmed cell death during retinal development

Mutations in the myocilin gene (MYOC) are causative for 10% of cases with juvenile open-angle glaucoma and 3-4% of those with primary open-angle glaucoma. Myocilin is a secreted protein with relatively ill-defined matricellular properties. Despite its high expression in the eye, myocilin-deficient mice have originally been reported to have no obvious ocular phenotype. Here we revisited the ocular phenotype of myocilin-deficient mice and detected a higher number of neurons in their inner (INL) and outer (ONL) nuclear layers, as well as a higher number of retinal ganglion cells (RGC) and their axons. The increase in retinal neurons appears to be caused by a decrease in programmed developmental cell death, as apoptosis of retinal neurons between postnatal days 4 and 10 was found to be attenuated when compared to that of wildtype littermates. In contrast, when Myoc(-/-) mice were crossed with βB1-crystallin-MYOC mice with ectopic overexpression of myocilin in the eye, no differences in developmental apoptosis, RGC number and INL thickness were observed when compared to wildtype littermates. The amounts of the anti-apoptotic Bcl-2-like protein 1 (BCL2L1, Bcl-xL) and its mRNA were increased in retinae of Myoc(-/-) mice, while lower amounts of BCL2L1 and its mRNA were detected in mixed Myoc(-/-)/βB1-crystallin-MYOC mice. The structural differences between Myoc(-/-) mice and wildtype littermates did not result in functional differences as measured by electroretinography. Noteworthy though mixed Myoc(-/-)/βB1-crystallin-MYOC mice with ocular overexpression of myocilin had significant cone function deficits. Myocilin appears to modulate apoptotic death of retinal neurons likely by interacting with the intrinsic apoptotic pathway.

The effects of myocilin expression on functionally relevant trabecular meshwork genes: a mini-review

Myocilin is a secreted glaucoma-associated protein, specifically induced by dexamethasone in human trabecular meshwork cells, where it was discovered. Myocilin is expressed in several tissues of the body, but it causes disease only in the eye. The protein contains two domains: an N-terminal region with significant homologies to nonmuscle myosin, and a C-terminal region, which is similar to the olfactomedin proteins. Forty percent of myocilin undergoes an intracellular endoproteolytic cleavage by calpain II, a calcium-dependent cysteine protease, which releases the 2 domains. The protein is known to interact with intracellular and extracellular matrix proteins, and some is released into the extracellular space associated with exosomes. Myocilin mutations are linked to glaucoma and induce elevated intraocular pressure. Most of the glaucoma-causative mutations map to the olfactomedin domain, which appears to be a critical domain for the function of the protein. Myocilin mutants are misfolded, aggregate in the endoplasmic reticulum, and are not secreted. Overexpression of myocilin and of its mutants in primary human trabecular meshwork cells triggers changes in the expression of numerous genes, many of which have been known to be involved in mechanisms important for the physiology and pathology of the tissue. Here we review recent studies from our laboratory and those of others that deal with trabecular meshwork genes, which are altered by the overexpression of wild-type and glaucoma-causative mutant myocilin genes.

Olfactomedin-like 3 (OLFML3) gene expression in baboon and human ocular tissues: cornea, lens, uvea, and retina

BACKGROUND

Olfactomedin-like is a family of polyfunctional polymeric glycoproteins. This family has at least four members. One member of this family is OLFML3, which is preferentially expressed in placenta but is also detected in other adult tissues including the liver and heart. However, its orthologous rat gene is expressed in the iris, sclera, trabecular meshwork, retina, and optic nerve.

METHODS

OLFML3 messenger amplification was performed by RT-PCR from human and baboon ocular tissues. The products were cloned and sequenced.

RESULTS

We report OLFML3 expression in human and baboon eye. The full coding DNA sequence has 1221 bp, from which an open reading frame of 406 amino acid was obtained. The baboon OLFML3 gene nucleotidic sequence has 98% and amino acidic 99% similarity with humans.

CONCLUSIONS

OLFML3 gene expression in human and baboon ocular tissues and its high similarity make the baboon a powerful model to deduce the physiological and/or metabolic function of this protein in the eye.

Absence of altered expression of optineurin in primary open angle glaucoma patients

PURPOSE

To investigate the expression level of the optineurin gene (OPTN) in the blood of primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) patients to determine if altered expression is playing a role in primary open angle glaucoma systemically.

METHODS

Patients (n=47) were eligible for inclusion if they met standard clinical criteria for POAG, including age greater than 40 years, intraocular pressure ≥21 mmHg in at least one eye before treatment, normal-appearing anterior chamber angles bilaterally on gonioscopy, and optic nerve injury characteristic of POAG. Control subjects (n=27) were recruited who were free from glaucoma by examination. DNA from patient was sequenced to look for possible mutations in the coding region of OPTN or its promoter. RNA was extracted from leukocytes of patients and controls and converted to cDNA by reverse transcriptase enzyme, and quantitative PCR was used to assess expression levels of OPTN and the β-globulin gene. The ratio of OPTN expression to β-globulin gene expression for POAG patients was compared to that of controls and to clinical characteristics of POAG patients.

RESULTS

No mutation(s) were detected in any of the patients after sequencing the full OPTN gene and its promoter region. Mean OPTN (p≤0.35), and β-globulin (p≤0.48) gene expression values were statistically similar in POAG patients and controls. OPTN/β-globulin (p≤0.83) ratios were also indistinguishable between POAG patients and controls. OPTN/β-globulin ratios were not significantly associated with age, sex, or ethnicity of patients within the POAG group. Similarly, OPTN/β-globulin ratios were not significantly affected by ethnicity or clinical parameters related to POAG severity including maximum intraocular pressure, vertical cup-to-disk ratio, static perimetry mean deviation, or static perimetry pattern standard deviation.

CONCLUSIONS

OPTN expression is not altered in the blood of POAG patients, suggesting that OPTN expression is not changed systemically and implying that other mechanisms are involved in POAG pathogenesis.

OLFML3 expression is decreased during prenatal muscle development and regulated by microRNA-155 in pigs

The Olfactomedin-like 3 (OLFML3) gene has matrix-related function involved in embryonic development. MicroRNA-155 (miR-155), 21- to 23-nucleotides (nt) noncoding RNA, regulated myogenesis by target mRNA. Our LongSAGE analysis suggested that OLFML3 gene was differently expressed during muscle development in pig. In this study, we cloned the porcine OLFML3 gene and detected its tissues distribution in adult Tongcheng pigs and dynamical expression in developmental skeletal muscle (12 prenatal and 10 postnatal stages) from Landrace (lean-type) and Tongcheng (obese-type) pigs. Subsequently, we analyzed the interaction between OLFML3 and miR-155. The OLFML3 was abundantly expressed in liver and pancreas, moderately in lung, small intestine and placenta, and weakly in other tissues and postnatal muscle. There were different dynamical expression patterns between Landrace and Tongcheng pigs during prenatal skeletal muscle development. The OLFML3 was down-regulated (33-50 days post coitus, dpc), subsequently up-regulated (50-70 dpc), and then down-regulated (70-100 dpc) in Landrace pigs, while in Tongcheng pigs, it was down-regulated (33-50 dpc), subsequently up-regulated (50-55 dpc) and then down-regulated (55-100 dpc). There was higher expression in Tongcheng than Landrace in prenatal muscle from 33 to 60 dpc, and opposite situation from 65 to 100 dpc. Dual luciferase assay and real time PCR documented that OLFML3 expression was regulated by miR-155 at mRNA level. Our research indicated that OLFML3 gene may affect prenatal skeletal muscle development and was regulated by miR-155. These finding will help understanding biological function and expression regulation of OLFML3 gene in mammal animals.

Mechanisms of ATP release by human trabecular meshwork cells, the enabling step in purinergic regulation of aqueous humor outflow

Our guiding hypothesis is that ecto-enzymatic conversion of extracellular ATP to adenosine activates A(1) adenosine receptors, reducing resistance to aqueous humor outflow and intraocular pressure. The initial step in this purinergic regulation is ATP release from outflow-pathway cells by mechanisms unknown. We measured similar ATP release from human explant-derived primary trabecular meshwork (TM) cells (HTM) and a human TM cell line (TM5). Responses to 21 inhibitors indicated that pannexin-1 (PX1) and connexin (Cx) hemichannels and P2X(7) receptors (P2RX(7) ) were comparably important in modulating ATP release induced by hypotonic swelling, whereas vesicular release was insignificant. Consistent with prior studies of PX1 activity in certain other cells, ATP release was lowered by the reducing agent dithiothreitol. Overexpressing PX1 in HEK293T cells promoted, while partial knockdown (KD) in both HEK293T and TM5 cells inhibited hypotonicity-activated ATP release. Additionally, KD reduced the pharmacologically defined contribution of PX1 and enhanced those of Cx and P2RX(7) . ATP release was also triggered by raising intracellular Ca(2+) activity with ionomycin after a prolonged lag time and was unaffected by the PX1 blocker probenecid, but nearly abolished by P2RX(7) antagonists. We conclude that swelling-stimulated ATP release from human TM cells is physiologically mediated by PX1 and Cx hemichannels and P2X(7) receptors, but not by vesicular release. PX1 appears not to be stimulated by intracellular Ca(2+) in TM cells, but can be modulated by oxidation-reduction state. The P2RX(7) -dependent component of swelling-activated release may be mediated by PX1 hemichannels or reflect apoptotic magnification of ATP release, either through itself and/or hemichannels.

Primary open-angle glaucoma genes

A substantial fraction of glaucoma has a genetic basis. About 5% of primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) is currently attributed to single-gene or Mendelian forms of glaucoma (ie glaucoma caused by mutations in myocilin or optineurin). Mutations in these genes have a high likelihood of leading to glaucoma and are rarely seen in normal subjects. Other cases of POAG have a more complex genetic basis and are caused by the combined effects of many genetic and environmental risk factors, each of which do not act alone to cause glaucoma. These factors are more frequently detected in patients with POAG, but are also commonly observed in normal subjects. Additional genes that may be important in glaucoma pathogenesis have been investigated using quantitative traits approaches. Such studies have begun to identify genes that control the magnitude of important quantitative features of glaucoma that may also be important risk factors for POAG, such as central corneal thickness. Each of these different approaches to study glaucoma genetics is providing new insights into the pathogenesis of POAG.

Keeping an eye on myocilin: a complex molecule associated with primary open-angle glaucoma susceptibility

MYOC encodes a secretary glycoprotein of 504 amino acids named myocilin. MYOC is the first gene to be linked to juvenile open-angle glaucoma (JOAG) and some forms of adult-onset primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG). The gene was identified as an up-regulated molecule in cultured trabecular meshwork (TM) cells after treatment with dexamethasone and was originally referred to as trabecular meshwork-inducible glucocorticoid response (TIGR). Elevated intraocular pressure (IOP), due to decreased aqueous outflow, is the strongest known risk factor for POAG. Increasing evidence showed that the modulation of the wild-type (wt) myocilin protein expression is not causative of glaucoma while some misfolded and self-assembly aggregates of mutated myocilin may be associated with POAG in related or unrelated populations. The etiology of the disease remains unclear. Consequently, a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlyingPOAG is required to obtain early diagnosis, avoid potential disease progression, and develop new therapeutic strategies. In the present study, we review and discuss the most relevant studies regarding structural characterizations, expressions, molecular interactions, putative functions of MYOC gene and/or its corresponding protein in POAG etiology.

Toward a Genetic Understanding of Glaucoma-Breakthroughs and Challenges from Studies of Exfoliation Glaucoma

Glaucoma is a complex group of diseases causing progressive degeneration of the optic nerve. Despite strong evidence of hereditary contributions to glaucoma, relatively few genetic mutations associated with glaucoma risk have thus far been identified. Glaucoma likely represents a complex genetic trait influenced by multiple loci and many confounding factors, increasing the challenge in identifying glaucoma’s hereditary basis. In this article, a brief history of the search for glaucoma-causing mutations is presented, highlighting recent breakthroughs that have identified lysyl oxidase-like 1 (LOXL1) as a major genetic risk factor contributing to exfoliative glaucoma. In considering challenges that remain ahead, our central tenet is that the search for glaucoma’s genetic elements will continue to require experimental ingenuity and synergistic approaches involving animal models that render the complexity of glaucoma more tractable.

Prediction of microRNAs affecting mRNA expression during retinal development

BACKGROUND

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small RNA molecules (~22 nucleotides) which have been shown to play an important role both in development and in maintenance of adult tissue. Conditional inactivation of miRNAs in the eye causes loss of visual function and progressive retinal degeneration. In addition to inhibiting translation, miRNAs can mediate degradation of targeted mRNAs. We have previously shown that candidate miRNAs affecting transcript levels in a tissue can be deduced from mRNA microarray expression profiles. The purpose of this study was to predict miRNAs which affect mRNA levels in developing and adult retinal tissue and to confirm their expression.

RESULTS

Microarray expression data from ciliary epithelial retinal stem cells (CE-RSCs), developing and adult mouse retina were generated or downloaded from public repositories. Analysis of gene expression profiles detected the effects of multiple miRNAs in CE-RSCs and retina. The expression of 20 selected miRNAs was confirmed by RT-PCR and the cellular distribution of representative candidates analyzed by in situ hybridization. The expression levels of miRNAs correlated with the significance of their predicted effects upon mRNA expression. Highly expressed miRNAs included miR-124, miR-125a, miR-125b, miR-204 and miR-9. Over-expression of three miRNAs with significant predicted effects upon global mRNA levels resulted in a decrease in mRNA expression of five out of six individual predicted target genes assayed.

CONCLUSIONS

This study has detected the effect of miRNAs upon mRNA expression in immature and adult retinal tissue and cells. The validity of these observations is supported by the experimental confirmation of candidate miRNA expression and the regulation of predicted target genes following miRNA over-expression. Identified miRNAs are likely to be important in retinal development and function. Misregulation of these miRNAs might contribute to retinal degeneration and disease. Conversely, manipulation of their expression could potentially be used as a therapeutic tool in the future.

Mouse models of retinal ganglion cell death and glaucoma

Once considered too difficult to use for glaucoma studies, mice are now becoming a powerful tool in the research of the molecular and pathological events associated with this disease. Often adapting technologies first developed in rats, ganglion cell death in mice can be induced using acute models and chronic models of experimental glaucoma. Similarly, elevated IOP has been reported in transgenic animals carrying defects in targeted genes. Also, one group of mice, from the DBA/2 line of inbred animals, develops a spontaneous optic neuropathy with many features of human glaucoma that is associated with IOP elevation caused by an anterior chamber pigmentary disease. The advent of mice for glaucoma research is already having a significant impact on our understanding of this disease, principally because of the access to genetic manipulation technology and genetics already well established for these animals.