Histopathology of Pigment dispersion syndrome and glaucoma

Pigment dispersion syndrome (PDS) can have varied manifestations. Anterior and posterior segment involvement by dispersed pigments was documented in gross pathology and by staining under microscopy. Pigmentary changes in the sclera, cornea, anterior chamber, iris, trabecular meshwork, lens, and retinal pigment epithelium and optic nerve findings were consistent with PDS. External scleral and vitreous pigmentation has never been reported before in the scientific literature. Retinal pigment degeneration and granule dispersion were seen throughout the retina which could be a contributing factor in the etiology of PDS.

Systemic diffuse large B-cell lymphoma masquerading as neovascular glaucoma

We describe a case of spontaneous hyphema associated with anterior uveitis presents in a 69-year old female as the prominent sign of the intraocular spread of systemic diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). She had a history of diabetes and initially misdiagnosed as neovascular glaucoma. Clinical history of systemic lymphoma, characteristic findings on B-scan ultrasonography and magnetic resonance imaging scan, and identification of atypical lymphoid cells in aqueous sample established the diagnosis of intraocular metastasis of systemic DLBCL. Therefore, this report highlights that life-threatening malignant systemic lymphoma may masquerade as anterior segment ocular inflammation or neovascular glaucoma.

A rare case of traumatic subretinal migration of crystalline lens, corroborated histologically

Blunt trauma is the most common cause of posterior dislocation of the crystalline lens. We describe a rare case of subretinal migration of crystalline lens through the giant retinal tear following blunt ocular trauma. This incidental finding of subretinal dislocation of lens following blunt ocular trauma was confirmed on histopathological examination of the enucleated eye. This complication has not been described by histopathological examination in literature so far.

Cyclophotocoagulation-induced sympathetic ophthalmia in a Coats' disease patient supported by histopathology and immunohistochemistry

We describe a case of a 13-year-old male patient of Coats' disease who developed sympathetic ophthalmia (SO) following contact diode laser cyclophotocoagulation. There was no history of invasive surgery or any perforating injuries preceding cyclodestructive therapy. The eye had neovascular glaucoma secondary to Coats' disease, which was treated once with contact cyclophotocoagulation. Subsequently, the intraocular pressure slowly decreased, and the eye became phthisical. Intraocular inflammation developed in the fellow eye and SO was suspected, which was confirmed by characteristic findings seen on fluorescein angiography. The case was successfully managed with the help of topical and systemic immunosuppression. Enucleation with silicone ball implantation was performed in the right phthisical eye and specimen was sent for histopathological examination. Histopathology and immunostaining supported the diagnosis of SO.

Reef-coral proteins as visual, non-destructive reporters for plant transformation

Recently, five novel fluorescent proteins have been isolated from non-bioluminescent species of reef-coral organisms and have been made available through ClonTech. They are AmCyan, AsRed, DsRed, ZsGreen and ZsYellow. These proteins are valuable as reporters for transformation because they do not require a substrate or external co-factor to emit fluorescence and can be tested in vivo without destruction of the tissue under study. We have evaluated them in a large range of plants, both monocots and dicots, and our results indicate that they are valuable reporting tools for transformation in a wide variety of crops. We report here their successful expression in wheat, maize, barley, rice, banana, onion, soybean, cotton, tobacco, potato and tomato. Transient expression could be observed as early as 24 h after DNA delivery in some cases, allowing for very clear visualization of individually transformed cells. Stable transgenic events were generated, using mannose, kanamycin or hygromycin selection. Transgenic plants were phenotypically normal, showing a wide range of fluorescence levels, and were fertile. Expression of AmCyan, ZsGreen and AsRed was visible in maize T1 seeds, allowing visual segregation to more than 99% accuracy. The excitation and emission wavelengths of some of these proteins are significantly different; the difference is enough for the simultaneous visualization of cells transformed with more than one of the fluorescent proteins. These proteins will become useful tools for transformation optimization and other studies. The wide variety of plants successfully tested demonstrates that these proteins will potentially find broad use in plant biology.