Role of MCP-1 and IL-8 in viral anterior uveitis, and contractility and fibrogenic activity of trabecular meshwork cells

Reactive Oxygen Species-Responsive Dual Anti-Inflammatory and Antioxidative Nanoparticles for Anterior Uveitis

Anterior uveitis (AU) is an immune-mediated inflammatory disease that results in iritis, cyclitis, glaucoma, cataracts, and even a loss of vision. The frequent and long-term administration of corticosteroid drugs is limited in the clinic owing to the side effects and patient noncompliance with the drugs. Therefore, specifically delivering drugs to inflammatory anterior segment tissues and reducing the topical application dosage of the drug are still a challenge. Here, we developed dual dexamethasone (Dex) and curcumin (Cur)-loaded reactive oxygen species (ROS)-responsive nanoparticles (CPDC NPs) to treat anterior uveitis. The CPDC NPs demonstrated both anti-inflammatory and antioxidative effects, owing to their therapeutic characteristics of dexamethasone and curcumin, respectively. The CPDC NPs could effectively release dexamethasone and curcumin in the oxidizing physiological environment of the inflammation tissue. The CPDC NPs can effectively internalize by activated macrophage cells, subsequently suppressing the proinflammatory factor expression. Moreover, the CPDC NPs can inhibit ROS and inflammation via nuclear transcription factor E2-related factor 2/heme oxygenase-1 (Nrf2/HO-1) pathway activation. In an endotoxin-induced uveitis rabbit model, the CPDC NPs show a therapeutic effect that is better than that of either free drugs or commercial eye drops. Importantly, the CPDC NPs with a lower dexamethasone dosage could reduce the side effects significantly. Taken together, we believe that the dual-drug-loaded ROS-responsive NPs could effectively target and inhibit inflammation and have the potential for anterior uveitis treatment in clinical practice.

Ocular Biomechanics and Glaucoma

Biomechanics is a branch of biophysics that deals with mechanics applied to biology. Corneal biomechanics have an important role in managing patients with glaucoma. While evidence suggests that patients with thin and stiffer corneas have a higher risk of developing glaucoma, it also influences the accurate measurement of intraocular pressure. We reviewed the pertinent literature to help increase our understanding of the biomechanics of the cornea and other ocular structures and how they can help optimize clinical and surgical treatments, taking into consideration individual variabilities, improve the diagnosis of suspected patients, and help monitor the response to treatment.

Analysis of risk factors associated with secondary open-angle glaucoma in Posner-Schlossman syndrome: A retrospective case-control study

Background

Posner-Schlossman syndrome (PSS) is a relatively rare cause of chronic secondary open-angle glaucoma (OAG), but the exact cause is unknown. This study aimed to determine potential risk factors for OAG secondary to PSS and to provide a basis for early intervention in the development of PSS.

Methods

This was a retrospective case-control study. Nine cases diagnosed with PSS and seven cases diagnosed with OAG secondary to PSS were selected and their aqueous humor assays at the first occurrence of PSS were collected. Clinical characteristics including age, sex, disease duration, eye laterality, baseline visual acuity, maximum IOP, corneal endothelial cell density, visual field, retinal nerve fiber layer thickness, cup-to-disk ratio, keratic precipitates, anterior chamber inflammation, and aqueous humor cytokine assay results were compared between the two groups.

Results

The cytomegalovirus (CMV) positivity was 55.60% in patients with PSS and 100% in patients with OAG secondary to PSS. Corneal endothelial cell density was lower in patients with CMV-positive PSS (p = 0.0116). Concentrations of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), interleukin (IL)-6, and vascular cell adhesion molecule (VCAM) in patients with PSS and IL-8, IL-6, and VCAM in patients with OAG secondary to PSS were higher than standard reference values; and IL-8 concentration was significantly higher in patients with OAG secondary to PSS (p = 0.0229). There were significant positive correlations between IL-8 and IL-6, IL-6 and VCAM (p = 0.0304, p = 0.0172) and a significant negative correlation between bFGF and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) (p = 0.0497). Simultaneous increase of IL-8 and IL-6 concentration levels could be used as a cytokine indicator to predict secondary OAG in patients with PSS (p = 0.0095).

Conclusion

Simultaneous increase of IL-8 and IL-6 concentrations may be an important cause of accelerated secondary OAG in patients with PSS, with IL-8 playing a more critical role. IL-8 and IL-6 may be more reliable cytokine markers for predicting secondary OAG in PSS, However, the high possibility of secondary OAG in patients with CMV-positive PSS should not be ignored. Regulation of IL-8 and IL-6 levels may be a new strategy of preventing OAG secondary to PSS.

Overview and update on cytomegalovirus-associated anterior uveitis and glaucoma

Cytomegalovirus anterior uveitis is the most common ocular inflammatory disease caused by cytomegalovirus infection. It mainly occurs in middle-aged males with competent immunologic function, and the incidence is higher in Asia. The clinical manifestations vary from Posner-Schlossman syndrome and corneal endotheliitis to Fuchs uveitis syndrome, and are often accompanied by intraocular hypertension. Secondary glaucoma is a potentially blinding ocular complication with a pathogenesis that includes complicated immunological factors, intraocular inflammation, different types of angle abnormalities, and the administration of steroids, which may result in physical discomfort and visual impairment. Diagnostic tests, such as the polymerase chain reaction, optical coherence tomography, ocular microscopy, and confocal microscopy, might help in identifying anterior uveitis caused by other viruses. Combinations of antiviral medications and anti-inflammatory agents are effective treatments. If pharmacological therapy cannot reduce intraocular pressure or slow the progression of glaucomatous optic neuropathy, surgical intervention is required as a last resort.

Liquid biomarkers of macrophage dysregulation and circulating spike protein illustrate the biological heterogeneity in patients with post-acute sequelae of COVID-19

Post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC) are long-term consequences of SARS-CoV-2 infection that can substantially impair the quality of life. Underlying mechanisms ranging from persistent viruses to innate and adaptive immune dysregulation have been discussed. Here, we profiled the plasma of 181 individuals from the cohort study for digital health research in Germany (DigiHero), including individuals after mild to moderate COVID-19 with or without PASC and uninfected controls. We focused on soluble factors related to monocyte/macrophage biology and on circulating SARS-CoV-2 spike (S1) protein as a potential biomarker for persistent viral reservoirs. At a median time of 8 months after infection, we found pronounced dysregulation in almost all tested soluble factors, including both pro-inflammatory and pro-fibrotic cytokines. These immunological perturbations were remarkably independent of ongoing PASC symptoms per se, but further correlation and regression analyses suggested PASC-specific patterns involving CCL2/MCP-1 and IL-8 that either correlated with sCD162, sCD206/MMR, IFN-α2, IL-17A and IL-33, or IL-18 and IL-23. None of the analyzed factors correlated with the detectability or levels of circulating S1, indicating that this represents an independent subset of patients with PASC. These data confirm prior evidence of immune dysregulation and persistence of viral protein in PASC and illustrate its biological heterogeneity that still awaits correlation with clinically defined PASC subtypes.

GeneToList: A Web Application to Assist with Gene Identifiers for the Non-Bioinformatics-Savvy Scientist

Simple Summary

With the increasing popularity of omics technologies, many scientists are dealing with large sets of genomic data for the first time. While there are many amazing bioinformatics tools available to help analyze this data, one common difficulty these scientists face is that not all gene data or analysis tools use the same genomic nomenclature. Another issue is that many publications still use obsolete or colloquial gene aliases instead of official gene identifiers. Common gene ID conversion tools and other downstream analysis software struggle with these gene aliases. Therefore, we developed a free and publicly available web application, GeneToList, to assist in gene ID disambiguation and gene ID conversion, with a specific focus on a user-friendly interface for the non-bioinformatics-savvy scientist.

Abstract

The increasing incorporation of omics technologies into biomedical research and translational medicine presents challenges to end users of the large and complex datasets that are generated by these methods. A particular challenge in genomics is that the nomenclature for genes is not uniform between large genomic databases or between commonly used genetic analysis tools. Furthermore, outdated genomic nomenclature can still be found amongst scientific communications, including peer-reviewed manuscripts. Therefore, a web application (GeneToList) was developed to assist in gene ID conversion and alias matching, with a specific focus on achieving a user-friendly interface for the non-bioinformatics-savvy scientist. It currently includes gene information for over 38,000 different taxa retrieved from the National Center for Biotechnology and Information (NCBI) Gene resource. Supported databases of gene IDs include NCBI Gene Symbols, NCBI Gene IDs (Entrez IDs), OMIM IDs, HGNC IDs, Ensembl IDs, and 28 other taxa-specific identifiers. GeneToList is available at genetolist.com. The tool is a web application that is compatible with many standard browsers. The gene ID conversion feature of this application was found to outcompete the common gene ID conversion tools. Specifically, it was able to successfully convert all tested IDs, whereas the others were not able to recognize the gene aliases. Therefore, the gene ID disambiguation provided by this application should be beneficial for many scientists dealing with gene data when the uniformity of gene nomenclature is important for downstream analysis.

Increased Complement-Associated Inflammation in Cytomegalovirus-Positive Hypertensive Anterior Uveitis Patients Based on the Aqueous Humor Proteomics Analysis

Herpetic anterior uveitis-associated ocular inflammation is commonly manifested with ocular hypertension and glaucoma. Relative to other viruses, cytomegalovirus (CMV) positive hypertensive anterior uveitis is associated with high recurrences of uveitis, as well as with uncontrolled intraocular pressure (IOP) and a subsequent higher requirement for future glaucoma surgery. To gain novel insights into the pathogenesis of ocular hypertension in these patients, we investigated the proteome changes of the aqueous humor (AH) derived from the CMV hypertensive anterior uveitis (CMV-HAU; n = 10) patients and non-glaucoma (cataract; n = 10) patients using liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry. Among a total of 562 proteins identified, fifty and fifteen proteins were significantly elevated and decreased, respectively, in the AH of CMV-HAU patients compared to the control subjects by ≥2 fold. Gene ontology (GO) enrichment and network analyses of elevated proteins revealed that the enrichment of protein was involved in the complement activation, the humoral immune response mediated by the circulating immunoglobulins, proteolysis, and platelet degranulation. In the AH of CMV-HAU, GDF (growth/differentiation factor)-15, the inflammatory marker belonging to the TGF-β superfamily proteins, was significantly increased, while vasorin, an anti-TGF-β protein, levels were decreased. The trabecular meshwork cells infected with CMV exhibited a significantly increased expression of inflammatory markers. Collectively, these data indicate increased complement factor associated inflammation and humoral immunity in CMV-HAU associated ocular hypertension.

Glaucoma and biomechanics

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Biomechanics is an important aspect of the complex family of diseases known as the glaucomas. Here, we review recent studies of biomechanics in glaucoma.

RECENT FINDINGS

Several tissues have direct and/or indirect biomechanical roles in various forms of glaucoma, including the trabecular meshwork, cornea, peripapillary sclera, optic nerve head/sheath, and iris. Multiple mechanosensory mechanisms and signaling pathways continue to be identified in both the trabecular meshwork and optic nerve head. Further, the recent literature describes a variety of approaches for investigating the role of tissue biomechanics as a risk factor for glaucoma, including pathological stiffening of the trabecular meshwork, peripapillary scleral structural changes, and remodeling of the optic nerve head. Finally, there have been advances in incorporating biomechanical information in glaucoma prognoses, including corneal biomechanical parameters and iridial mechanical properties in angle-closure glaucoma.

SUMMARY

Biomechanics remains an active aspect of glaucoma research, with activity in both basic science and clinical translation. However, the role of biomechanics in glaucoma remains incompletely understood. Therefore, further studies are indicated to identify novel therapeutic approaches that leverage biomechanics. Importantly, clinical translation of appropriate assays of tissue biomechanical properties in glaucoma is also needed.

Research Progress on the Role of Microglia Membrane Proteins or Receptors in Neuroinflammation and Degeneration

Microglia are intrinsic immune cells of the central nervous system and play a dual role (pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory) in the homeostasis of the nervous system. Neuroinflammation mediated by microglia serves as an important stage of ischemic hypoxic brain injury, cerebral hemorrhage disease, neurodegeneration and neurotumor of the nervous system and is present through the whole course of these diseases. Microglial membrane protein or receptor is the basis of mediating microglia to play the inflammatory role and they have been found to be upregulated by recognizing associated ligands or sensing changes in the nervous system microenvironment. They can then allosterically activate the downstream signal transduction and produce a series of complex cascade reactions that can activate microglia, promote microglia chemotactic migration and stimulate the release of proinflammatory factor such as TNF-α, IL-β to effectively damage the nervous system and cause apoptosis of neurons. In this paper, several representative membrane proteins or receptors present on the surface of microglia are systematically reviewed and information about their structures, functions and specific roles in one or more neurological diseases. And on this basis, some prospects for the treatment of novel coronavirus neurological complications are presented.