Autoantibodies against alpha B-crystallin, a candidate autoantigen in multiple sclerosis, are part of a normal human immune repertoire

Human T-cell responses to the stress protein alpha B-crystallin in multiple sclerosis (MS)-affected brain samples are dominant when compared to other myelin antigens. The establishment of the apparent autoimmune repertoire against this antigen has been suggested to involve cross-priming during viral infection. Yet, another possibility would be...

Spectral and directional reflectance of the fovea in diabetes mellitus: Photoreceptor integrity, macular pigment and lens

Our aim was to assess the integrity of the photoreceptors in the fovea, and to measure the optical density of the macular pigment and the eye lens in patients with diabetes mellitus, and to compare the results with those of a group of healthy subjects. The directional and spectral properties of the light reflected from a 1.9 deg field centered...

Lens aging in relation to nutritional determinants and possible risk factors for age-related cataract

Objective: To investigate whether nutritional factors and possible risk factors for cataract influence the lens optical density (LOD). Design: Three hundred seventy-six subjects, aged 18 to 75 years, were recruited. In a cross-sectional design, serum was analyzed for lutein, zeaxanthin, vitamin C, α-tocopherol, and cholesterol levels. Adipose...

Purification of the stress protein αB-crystallin and its differentially phosphorylated forms

The stress protein α B-crystallin was recently identified as a component of central nervous system myelin that is strongly immunogenic to human T cells. Stress-induced αB-crystallin that accumulates in the central nervous system is phosphorylated and recent evidence indicates that both rodent and human T cells can discriminate between...

Organotypic models for the assessment/prediction of ocular irritation

The brief of the Organotypic Models Working Group was to review data submitted to the Interagency Regulatory Alternatives Group on the use of isolated eyes and components of the eye used to predict eye irritation potential. Data submissions were received on four test systems: the isolated rabbit eye (one submission), the isolated chicken eye ...

Cholestrol content of the rat lens is lowered by administration of simvastatin, but not pravastatin

The influence of the 3-hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitors pravastatin and simvastatin on lens cholesterol metabolism was investigated in the rat. Short-term organ culture experiments with explanted lenses from 21-day-old Wistar rats showed that simvastatin was at least 35 times more effective than pravastatin in...

Different effects of the hypolipidemic drugs pravastatin and lovastatin on the cholesterol biosynthesis of the human ocular lens in organ culture and on the cholesterol content of the rat lens in vivo

This study aimed to investigate the influence of the hypocholesterolemic drugs pravastatin and lovastatin on the cholesterol biosynthesis in the ocular lens. Two model systems were used: a human lens organ culture system and an in vivo rat lens system. For measurements of cholesterol and fatty acid synthesis rates, human lenses were incubated...

Biosynthetic capacity of the human lens upon aging

Lipid and protein biosynthesis were investigated in organ culture of human lenses from subjects ranging from 8 to 95 years old. A marked increase of protein and cholesterol content of the human lens with age was found. No significant linear correlation of age with either cholesterol or fatty acid synthesis was observed. Moreover, there are no...