Gozdnogospodarski načrt za obdobje od 1.I.1977 do 31.XII.1986 : Gozdno gospodarstvo Maribor, Mariborsko (13) gozdnogospodarsko območje, Gozdnogospodarska enota Lehen

Subretinal fibrosis is directly related to severe visual loss, especially if occurs in the macula, and is frequently observed in advanced age-related macular degeneration and other refractory eye disorders such as diabetic retinopathy and uveitis. In this study, we analyzed the immunosuppressive mechanism of subretinal fibrosis using the novel animal model recently demonstrated. Both TLR2 and TLR4 deficient mice showed significant enlargement of subretinal fibrotic area as compared with wild-type mice. A single intraocular administration of heat shock protein 70 (HSP70), which is an endogenous ligand for TLR2 and TLR4, inhibited subretinal fibrosis in wild-type mice but not in TLR2 and TLR4-deficient mice. Additionally, HSP70 induced IL-10 production in eyes from wild-type mice but was impaired in both TLR2- and TLR4-deficient mice, indicating that HSP70-TLR2/TLR4 axis plays an immunomodulatory role in subretinal fibrosis. Thus, these results suggest that HSP70-TLR2/TLR4 axis is a new therapeutic target for subretinal fibrosis due to prognostic CNV

Comprehensive Analysis of Inflammatory Immune Mediators in Vitreoretinal Diseases

Inflammation affects the formation and the progression of various vitreoretinal diseases. We performed a comprehensive analysis of inflammatory immune mediators in the vitreous fluids from total of 345 patients with diabetic macular edema (DME, n = 92), proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR, n = 147), branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO, n = 30), central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO, n = 13) and rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD, n = 63). As a control, we selected a total of 83 patients with either idiopathic macular hole (MH) or idiopathic epiretinal membrane (ERM) that were free of major pathogenic intraocular changes, such as ischemic retina and proliferative membranes. The concentrations of 20 soluble factors (nine cytokines, six chemokines, and five growth factors) were measured simultaneously by multiplex bead analysis system. Out of 20 soluble factors, three factors: interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-8 (IL-8), and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) were significantly elevated in all groups of vitreoretinal diseases (DME, PDR, BRVO, CRVO, and RRD) compared with control group. According to the correlation analysis in the individual patient's level, these three factors that were simultaneously increased, did not show any independent upregulation in all the examined diseases. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) was significantly elevated in patients with PDR and CRVO. In PDR patients, the elevation of VEGF was significantly correlated with the three factors: IL-6, IL-8, and MCP-1, while no significant correlation was observed in CRVO patients. In conclusion, multiplex bead system enabled a comprehensive soluble factor analysis in vitreous fluid derived from variety of patients. Major three factors: IL-6, IL-8, and MCP-1 were strongly correlated with each other indicating a common pathway involved in inflammation process in vitreoretinal diseases

Rho-Kinase/ROCK as a Potential Drug Target for Vitreoretinal Diseases

Rho-associated kinase (Rho-kinase/ROCK) was originally identified as an effector protein of the G protein Rho. Its involvement in various diseases, particularly cancer and cardiovascular disease, has been elucidated, and ROCK inhibitors have already been applied clinically for cerebral vasospasm and glaucoma. Vitreoretinal diseases including diabetic retinopathy, age-related macular degeneration, and proliferative vitreoretinoapthy are still a major cause of blindness. While anti-VEGF therapy has recently been widely used for vitreoretinal disorders due to its efficacy, attention has been drawn to new unmet needs. The importance of ROCK in pathological vitreoretinal conditions has also been elucidated and is attracting attention as a potential therapeutic target. ROCK is involved in angiogenesis and hyperpermeability and also in the pathogenesis of various pathologies such as inflammation and fibrosis. It has been expected that ROCK inhibitors will become new molecular target drugs for vitreoretinal diseases. This review summarizes the recent progress on the mechanisms of action of ROCK and their applications in disease treatment

Rho-Kinase/ROCK as a Potential Drug Target for Vitreoretinal Diseases

Rho-associated kinase (Rho-kinase/ROCK) was originally identified as an effector protein of the G protein Rho. Its involvement in various diseases, particularly cancer and cardiovascular disease, has been elucidated, and ROCK inhibitors have already been applied clinically for cerebral vasospasm and glaucoma. Vitreoretinal diseases including diabetic retinopathy, age-related macular degeneration, and proliferative vitreoretinoapthy are still a major cause of blindness. While anti-VEGF therapy has recently been widely used for vitreoretinal disorders due to its efficacy, attention has been drawn to new unmet needs. The importance of ROCK in pathological vitreoretinal conditions has also been elucidated and is attracting attention as a potential therapeutic target. ROCK is involved in angiogenesis and hyperpermeability and also in the pathogenesis of various pathologies such as inflammation and fibrosis. It has been expected that ROCK inhibitors will become new molecular target drugs for vitreoretinal diseases. This review summarizes the recent progress on the mechanisms of action of ROCK and their applications in disease treatment

Functions of mucosal associated invariant T cells in eye diseases

Mucosal-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells are a unique subset of T cells that recognizes metabolites derived from the vitamin B2 biosynthetic pathway. Since the identification of cognate antigens for MAIT cells, knowledge of the functions of MAIT cells in cancer, autoimmunity, and infectious diseases has been rapidly expanding. Recently, MAIT cells have been found to contribute to visual protection against autoimmunity in the eye. The protective functions of MAIT cells are induced by T-cell receptor (TCR)-mediated activation. However, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Thus, this mini-review aims to discuss our findings and the complexity of MAIT cell-mediated immune regulation in the eye

Ten-year follow-up of infliximab treatment for uveitis in Behçet disease patients: A multicenter retrospective study

PurposeTo evaluate 10-year outcome of infliximab (IFX) treatment for uveitis in Behçet disease (BD) patients using a standardized follow-up protocol.DesignRetrospective longitudinal cohort study.Participants140 BD uveitis patients treated with IFX enrolled in our previous study.MethodsMedical records were reviewed for demographic information, duration of IFX treatment, number of ocular attacks before IFX initiation, best corrected visual acuity (VA) at baseline and 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 10 years after IFX initiation, uveitis recurrence after IFX initiation and main anatomical site, concomitant therapies, and adverse events (AEs).Main outcome measures10-year IFX continuation rate and change in LogMAR VA.ResultsOf 140 BD patients, 106 (75.7%) continued IFX treatment for 10 years. LogMAR VA improved gradually after initiation of IFX, and the improvement reached statistical significance from 2 years of treatment. Thereafter, significant improvement compared with baseline was maintained until 10 years, despite a slight deterioration of logMAR VA from 5 years. However, eyes with worse baseline decimal VA < 0.1 showed no significant improvement from baseline to 10 years. Uveitis recurred after IFX initiation in 50 patients (recurrence group) and did not recur in 56 (non-recurrence group). Ocular attacks/year before IFX initiation was significantly higher in the recurrence group (2.82 ± 3.81) than in the non-recurrence group (1.84 ± 1.78). In the recurrence group, uveitis recurred within 1 year in 58% and within 2 years in 74%. Seventeen patients (34%) had recurrent anterior uveitis, 17 (34%) had posterior uveitis, and 16 (32%) had panuveitis, with no significant difference in VA outcome. In addition, logMAR VA at 10 years did not differ between the recurrence and non-recurrence groups. AEs occurred among 43 patients (30.7%), and 24 (17.1%) resulted in IFX discontinuation before 10 years.ConclusionsAmong BD patients with uveitis who initiated IFX, approximately 75% continued treatment for 10 years, and their VA improved significantly and was maintained for 10 years. Uveitis recurred in one-half of the patients, but visual acuity did not differ significantly from the patients without recurrence

Guidance on Noncorticosteroid Systemic Immunomodulatory Therapy in Noninfectious Uveitis : Fundamentals Of Care for UveitiS (FOCUS) Initiative

Supplemental material available at www.aaojournal.org. Supported by AbbVie, Inc., and the Fundamentals of Care for Uveitis Initiative National Faculty. This manuscript was developed subsequent to an AbbVie-sponsored literature review of noninfectious, nonanterior uveitis. The meeting was conducted to understand the available literature regarding the management of patients with noninfectious, nonanterior uveitis. The program involved a total of 139 experts from 28 countries, who were selected for participation by AbbVie. However, AbbVie was not involved in the development of the manuscript. The authors maintained complete control over the content and this manuscript reflects the opinions of the authors. AbbVie selected the discussion participants and reviewed the final manuscript draft for scientific accuracy, but the authors determined the final content. All authors made substantial contributions to the article or critically revised it for important intellectual content and approved the final manuscript. AbbVie provided funding to invited participants, including honoraria for their attendance at the meetings. Travel to and from the meetings was reimbursed. No payments were made to the authors for the development of this manuscript. Dhinakaran Sambandan, PhD, and Shula Sarner, PhD, of Lucid Partners, Burleighfield House, Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom, provided medical writing and editorial support to the authors in the development of this manuscript; financial support for these services was provided by AbbVie. AbbVie reviewed the manuscript, but was not involved in the methodology, data collection and analysis, or completion of this manuscript.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Cd1-Reactive Natural Killer T Cells Are Required for Development of Systemic Tolerance through an Immune-Privileged Site

Systemic tolerance can be elicited by introducing antigen into an immune-privileged site, such as the eye, or directly into the blood. Both routes of immunization result in a selective deficiency of systemic delayed type hypersensitivity. Although the experimental animal model of anterior chamber–associated immune deviation (ACAID) occurs in most mouse strains, ACAID cannot be induced in several mutant mouse strains that are coincidentally deficient in natural killer T (NKT) cells. Therefore, this model for immune-privileged site–mediated tolerance provided us with an excellent format for studying the role of NKT cells in the development of tolerance. The following data show that CD1-reactive NKT cells are required for the development of systemic tolerance induced via the eye as follows: (a) CD1 knockout mice were unable to develop ACAID unless they were reconstituted with NKT cells together with CD1+ antigen-presenting cells; (b) specific antibody depletion of NKT cells in vivo abrogated the development of ACAID; and (c) anti-CD1 monoclonal antibody treatment of wild-type mice prevented ACAID development. Significantly, CD1-reactive NKT cells were not required for intravenously induced systemic tolerance, thereby establishing that different mechanisms mediate development of tolerance to antigens inoculated by these routes. A critical role for NKT cells in the development of systemic tolerance associated with an immune-privileged site suggests a mechanism involving NKT cells in self-tolerance and their defects in autoimmunity

Guidance on Noncorticosteroid Systemic Immunomodulatory Therapy in Noninfectious Uveitis: Fundamentals Of Care for UveitiS (FOCUS) Initiative.

TOPIC An international, expert-led consensus initiative to develop systematic, evidence-based recommendations for the treatment of noninfectious uveitis in the era of biologics. CLINICAL RELEVANCE The availability of biologic agents for the treatment of human eye disease has altered practice patterns for the management of noninfectious uveitis. Current guidelines are insufficient to assure optimal use of noncorticosteroid systemic immunomodulatory agents. METHODS An international expert steering committee comprising 9 uveitis specialists (including both ophthalmologists and rheumatologists) identified clinical questions and, together with 6 bibliographic fellows trained in uveitis, conducted a Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses protocol systematic review of the literature (English language studies from January 1996 through June 2016; Medline [OVID], the Central Cochrane library, EMBASE, CINAHL, SCOPUS, BIOSIS, and Web of Science). Publications included randomized controlled trials, prospective and retrospective studies with sufficient follow-up, case series with 15 cases or more, peer-reviewed articles, and hand-searched conference abstracts from key conferences. The proposed statements were circulated among 130 international uveitis experts for review. A total of 44 globally representative group members met in late 2016 to refine these guidelines using a modified Delphi technique and assigned Oxford levels of evidence. RESULTS In total, 10 questions were addressed resulting in 21 evidence-based guidance statements covering the following topics: when to start noncorticosteroid immunomodulatory therapy, including both biologic and nonbiologic agents; what data to collect before treatment; when to modify or withdraw treatment; how to select agents based on individual efficacy and safety profiles; and evidence in specific uveitic conditions. Shared decision-making, communication among providers and safety monitoring also were addressed as part of the recommendations. Pharmacoeconomic considerations were not addressed. CONCLUSIONS Consensus guidelines were developed based on published literature, expert opinion, and practical experience to bridge the gap between clinical needs and medical evidence to support the treatment of patients with noninfectious uveitis with noncorticosteroid immunomodulatory agents