Browsing by Author "Wen, Joanne C"
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Item Open Access Cytokine biomarkers in tear film for primary open-angle glaucoma.(Clin Ophthalmol, 2017) Gupta, Divakar; Wen, Joanne C; Huebner, Janet L; Stinnett, Sandra; Kraus, Virginia B; Tseng, Henry C; Walsh, MollyPURPOSE: To determine the utility of tear film cytokines as biomarkers for early primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG). METHODS: Patients without POAG and eye drop-naïve patients with newly diagnosed POAG were recruited from an academic hospital-based glaucoma practice. Tear films of recruited patients were obtained and analyzed using a multiplex, high-sensitivity electrochemiluminescent enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for proinflammatory cytokines (IFNγ, IL-10, IL-12p70, IL-13, IL-1β, IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-8, and TNFα). RESULTS: Mean concentrations of tear film cytokines were lower in the glaucoma group for 8 of 10 cytokines tested. IL-12p70 (3.94±2.19 pg/mL in control vs 2.31±1.156 pg/mL in POAG;P=0.035) was significantly lower in the tear film of patients with newly diagnosed POAG. CONCLUSION: Proinflammatory cytokines were lower in eye drop-naïve newly diagnosed glaucoma patients. Tear film cytokine profiles may be used as biomarkers of early POAG.Item Open Access Macular Vascular Microcirculation in Eyes With Open-angle Glaucoma Using Different Visual Field Severity Classification Systems.(Journal of glaucoma, 2019-09) Bojikian, Karine D; Nobrega, Priscilla; Wen, Joanne C; Zhang, Qinqin; Mudumbai, Raghu C; Johnstone, Murray A; Wang, Ruikang K; Chen, Philip PPrecis
We found significant differences in macular vascular microcirculation between normal and glaucomatous eyes using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA). Macular vascular microcirculation changes also showed significant correlations with visual field (VF) severity classification systems.Purpose
To correlate VF severity defined by different classification systems and macular vascular microcirculation in eyes with glaucoma using OCTA.Patients and methods
Twenty normal and 58 open-angle glaucoma (OAG) eyes were scanned using a swept-source OCTA (Plex Elite 9000) and macular vascular microcirculation was measured by calculating the overall blood flux index (BFI) and vessel area density (VAD) over the entire 6×6 mm area excluding the big retinal vessels. Glaucomatous eyes were staged into severity groups based on 4 VF severity classifications: Hodapp-Parrish-Anderson scale, Glaucoma Severity Staging system, ICD-10 glaucoma staging definitions, and VF mean deviation. Central 10-degree VF mean sensitivity (CMS) was calculated based on 24-2 VF. One-way analysis of variance was used to analyze the differences and correlation between macular vascular microcirculation and other clinical parameters.Results
Glaucomatous eyes had significantly lower ganglion cell and inner plexiform layer BFI and VAD (P<0.0001) compared with normal eyes. In OAG patients, BFI and VAD were significantly higher in mild OAG compared with severe OAG with all VF disease severity classification systems (P<0.001). Glaucoma Severity Staging had the highest correlation with changes in macular vascular microcirculation metrics (r=0.734 for BFI; r=0.647 for VAD) and VF CMS had highest correlation with macular vascular microcirculation metrics (r=0.887 for BFI; r=0.903 for VAD).Conclusion
Macular vascular microcirculation metrics detected by OCTA correlate with disease severity in glaucomatous eyes. VF CMS, calculated from only 12 tested central 10-degree points, correlated best with macular OCTA.Item Open Access Optic Disc Perfusion in Primary Open Angle and Normal Tension Glaucoma Eyes Using Optical Coherence Tomography-Based Microangiography.(PLoS One, 2016) Bojikian, Karine D; Chen, Chieh-Li; Wen, Joanne C; Zhang, Qinqin; Xin, Chen; Gupta, Divakar; Mudumbai, Raghu C; Johnstone, Murray A; Wang, Ruikang K; Chen, Philip PPURPOSE: To investigate optic disc perfusion differences in normal, primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG), and normal tension glaucoma (NTG) eyes using optical microangiography (OMAG) based optical coherence tomography (OCT) angiography technique. DESIGN: Cross-sectional, observational study. SUBJECTS: Twenty-eight normal, 30 POAG, and 31 NTG subjects. METHODS: One eye from each subject was scanned with a 68 kHz Cirrus HD-OCT 5,000-based OMAG prototype system centered at the optic nerve head (ONH) (Carl Zeiss Meditec Inc, Dublin, CA). Microvascular images were generated from the OMAG dataset by detecting the differences in OCT signal between consecutive B-scans. The pre-laminar layer (preLC) was isolated by a semi-automatic segmentation program. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Optic disc perfusion, quantified as flux, vessel area density, and normalized flux (flux normalized by the vessel area) within the ONH. RESULTS: Glaucomatous eyes had significantly lower optic disc perfusion in preLC in all three perfusion metrics (p<0.0001) compared to normal eyes. The visual field (VF) mean deviation (MD) and pattern standard deviation (PSD) were similar between the POAG and NTG groups, and no differences in optic disc perfusion were observed between POAG and NTG. Univariate analysis revealed significant correlation between optic disc perfusion and VF MD, VF PSD, and rim area in both POAG and NTG groups (p≤0.0288). However, normalized optic disc perfusion was correlated with some structural measures (retinal nerve fiber layer thickness and ONH cup/disc ratio) only in POAG eyes. CONCLUSIONS: Optic disc perfusion detected with OMAG was significantly reduced in POAG and NTG groups compared to normal controls, but no difference was seen between POAG and NTG groups with similar levels of VF damage. Disc perfusion was significantly correlated with VF MD, VF PSD, and rim area in glaucomatous eyes. Vascular changes at the optic disc as measured using OMAG may provide useful information for diagnosis and monitoring of glaucoma.Item Open Access Synthetic lethal analysis of Caenorhabditis elegans posterior embryonic patterning genes identifies conserved genetic interactions.(Genome Biol, 2005) Baugh, L Ryan; Wen, Joanne C; Hill, Andrew A; Slonim, Donna K; Brown, Eugene L; Hunter, Craig PPhenotypic robustness is evidenced when single-gene mutations do not result in an obvious phenotype. It has been suggested that such phenotypic stability results from 'buffering' activities of homologous genes as well as non-homologous genes acting in parallel pathways. One approach to characterizing mechanisms of phenotypic robustness is to identify genetic interactions, specifically, double mutants where buffering is compromised. To identify interactions among genes implicated in posterior patterning of the Caenorhabditis elegans embryo, we measured synthetic lethality following RNA interference of 22 genes in 15 mutant strains. A pair of homologous T-box transcription factors (tbx-8 and tbx-9) is found to interact in both C. elegans and C. briggsae, indicating that their compensatory function is conserved. Furthermore, a muscle module is defined by transitive interactions between the MyoD homolog hlh-1, another basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor, hnd-1, and the MADS-box transcription factor unc-120. Genetic interactions within a homologous set of genes involved in vertebrate myogenesis indicate broad conservation of the muscle module and suggest that other genetic modules identified in C. elegans will be conserved.