Toichiro Kuwabara

Rats immunized with the retinal interphotoreceptor retinoid-binding protein (IRBP) develop an inflammatory eye disease, "experimental autoimmune uveoretinitis" (EAU). The ocular changes which characterize the EAU induced by IRBP resemble those seen in rats which develop EAU by immunization with another retinal protein, S-antigen (S-Ag). Yet, the two antigens do not cross-react antigenically and the two diseases differ by several features: At low doses (less than or equal to 4 ...

In an earlier study we isolated three cyanogen bromide cleavage fragments of bovine IRBP that exhibited high levels of immunopathogenicity, producing inflammatory changes in the eyes (EAU) and pineal gland (EAP) of Lewis rats. These fragments have been localized within the IRBP sequence. In order to identify these putative immunopathogenic epitopes of IRBP, nine selected peptide sequences were synthesized and tested for the induction of disease in Lewis rats. Seven of the peptides were ...

S-antigen, a photoreceptor cell protein, induces a predominantly T-cell mediated autoimmune uveitis in many vertebrate animals, including primates. Because of this activity and the finding of immune responses to S antigen in patients with uveitis, this protein has been implicated in the pathogenesis of uveitis in humans. Peptide M, an 18-amino acid component of S antigen, has previously been shown to be highly uveitopathogenic in rats and guinea pigs. We report here that peptide M is ...

Rat lymphocyte lines were established, with specificity toward two synthetic peptides derived from the interphotoreceptor retinoid-binding protein (IRBP), which specifically localizes in the retina and pineal gland. One of the peptides, R4, is immunopathogenic, producing experimental autoimmune uveoretinitis (EAU) and pinealitis (EAP) in immunized rats, while the other peptide, R3, exhibits no detectable immunopathogenicity in rats. The cell lines carry surface markers specific for the ...

Experimental autoimmune uveoretinitis (EAU), an intraocular inflammatory disease, is induced in experimental animals by immunization with a retinal specific antigen, S-antigen (S-Ag), emulsified in complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA). The induction of EAU is enhanced by treating S-Ag-immunized animals with Bordetella pertussis. This study examined the effects of a purified component of B. pertussis, pertussis toxin (Ptx), on EAU induction as well as the mode of action of this toxin. ...

In patients with nephropathic cystinosis, corneal crystals develop by one year of age; they progressively accumulate and eventually cause recurrent corneal erosions and photophobia. After an in vitro study of cystinotic corneal stromal cells showed cystine depletion by cysteamine and after topical cysteamine was determined to be nontoxic in rabbits, we performed a controlled double-blind clinical trial of 10 mM cysteamine eyedrops in young patients with cystinosis, using one eye for ...

The ultrastructure and major soluble proteins of the transparent eye lens of two cubomedusan jellyfish,Tripedalia cystophora andCarybdea marsupialis, have been examined. Each species has two complex eyes (one large and one small) on four sensory structures called rhopalia. The lenses consist of closely spaced cells with few organelles. The lens is situated next to the retina, with only an acellular layer separating it from the photoreceptors. SDS-PAGE showed that the large lens ofC. ...

Cytologic details of the lens cells of the human and monkey have been studied with specific emphasis on their maturation process. Lens cells maintain the basal attachment until the nuclei are eliminated. After the denucleation, the cells develop specific joining apparatus. The mature lens cells, which occupy the major part of the lens, are held to each other firmly by knob and socket joints in the superficial cortex and by fine ridges in the deep lens.Cells in all maturation stages are ...

The retina and retinal pigment epithelium of the anesthetized Rhesus monkey were found to be irreversibly damaged by exposure to the light of a clinical indirect ophthalmoscope for 15 minutes at normal body temperature. Retinal irradiance of the damaging light was estimated to be 0.27 w/sq cm + 20%, a level which is at least two orders of magnitude lower than that associated with solar burns. The morphologic characteristics and natural history of threshold lesions were studied by means ...