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Purpose: To evaluate the effect of vitamin A palmitate on the synthesis of mucins from goblet cells in cultured rabbit conjunctiva., Methods: Palpebral conjunctiva was obtained from 12 white rabbits and was cultured in serum-free RCGM 2 which was developed for culture of rabbit corneal epithelial cells. This method eliminated retinol in the serum. High-performance liquid chromatography was used in quantitating N-acetylneuraminic acid contained in the sugar chain as an indicator of mucin content., Results: Addition of vitamin A palmitate to the cultured medium resulted in significant increase in the amount of N-acetylneuraminic acid in the medium., Conclusions: The increase in N-acetylneuraminic acid in the cultured medium suggests that the increase of goblet cells in cultured conjunctiva is related to the synthesis of mucins due to vitamin A. RCGM 2 as a culture medium promises to be useful in evaluating the pharmacological activity of vitamin A. High-performance liquid chromatography facilitated quantitation of mucins in the culture medium.

Purpose: To investigate the uptake of drugs by cultured human conjunctival epithelial cells (HCEC) and cultured rabbit corneal cell lines (SIRC)., Method: The drugs examined were ofloxacin (OFLX), lomefloxacin (LFLX), and norfloxacin (NFLX). The amount of drug uptake in the cultured cells that were exposed to the drugs was measured by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)., Result: The amount of LFLX, OFLX, and NFLX uptake in HCEC was 1.38 +/- 0.21 nmol/10(6) (mean +/- standard deviation) cells (5 min), 0.79 +/- 0.05 nmol/10(6) cells (5 min), and 0.56 +/- 0.03 nmol/10(6) cells (5 min), respectively. The amount of LFLX, OFLX, and NFLX uptake in SIRC was 1.08 +/- 0.18 nmol/10(6) cells (5 min), 0.58 +/- 0.17 nmol/10(6) cells (5 min), and 0.41 +/- 0.35 nmol/10(6) cells (5 min), respectively. The uptake levels of LFLX by both cultured cells were higher than those of OFLX and NFLX., Conclusion: This method may be useful as a screening method for intraocular drug dynamics studies.

In order to investigate the aging changes of the conjunctiva, we examined fluorescein-positive areas by fluorescein angiography. The deposition of melanin in basal cells, the degranulation of mast cells, and the lumens of capillaries were examined by light microscopy in 35 cataractous eyes without diabetes or hypertension. The fluorescein leakage increased with aging. The number of basal cells with deposition of melanin granules and mast cells with degranulation correlated significantly with aging. On the other hand, the narrowing of capillary lumens in conjunctival stroma was not observed with aging. Based on the above results, we conclude that the weakness of the conjunctival vessels without the narrowing of capillary lumens might be caused by functional disorder of the endothelium and pericytes. The increase of deposition of melanin granules in basal cells may be caused by the breakdown of the metabolic pathway of melanin. Long-time mechanical stimuli and metabolic disorders of active substances may increase the degranulation of mast cells.

We evaluated the effects of stellate ganglion block (SGB) on conjunctival oxygen tension, ocular surface temperature (n = 7) and intraocular pressure (n = 18) in patients with retinal vein occlusion and other retinopathy. The conjunctival oxygen tension (PcjO2) increased from 45.6 +/- 5.0 mmHg to 76.3 +/- 19.9 mmHg in 45 minutes by SGB and then gradually returned to the control level. PcjO2 120 minutes following SGB remained still at a higher level compared with the control value. Ocular surface temperature increased from 35.1 +/- 0.3 degrees C to 35.9 +/- 0.3 degrees C 25 minutes following SGB. Intraocular pressure decreased below the control level from 15 minutes to 120 minutes by SGB following an initial temporary increase. In conclusion, we have found that SGB does increase oxygen tension in ocular tissue and decrease IOP.

A 30-year-old female patient was presumed to have adolescent cystinosis because of the onset of glomerular nephritis in her twenties, and the absence of retardation of somatic growth, rickets, or retinopathy. Specular microscopy revealed fine needle-shaped and/or rectangular crystals in the corneal stroma. The crystals were birefringent hexagonal and/or rectangular in the conjunctival tissue. The cystine contents of conjunctival biopsies in the patient were 8.6-11.0 nmol/ml (assayed by high performance liquid chromatography.

Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) was studied in conjunctiva. Two specimens of normal conjunctiva and eleven of diseases ones, consisting of 2 pingueculas, 4 healing traumatic conjunctiva , and 5 proliferative disorders, were studied immunohistochemically using rabbit anti-human EGFR antibody with avitin-biotin and diaminobentizin method. These investigations revealed that the immunoreactive EGFR was identified only in the conjunctiva of 2 of the 3 cases of granuloma following pterygium surgery but not in the other specimens, including the normal conjunctiva. This fact suggests that abnormal expression of the EGFR could play a role in pathological status of conjunctiva.

We experienced a case of crystalline retinopathy with crystalline deposits in the cornea and the limbal conjunctiva, and performed histological studies of the cornea, conjunctiva and peripheral blood cells. The patient was a 45-year-old man who had no abnormality in hematological studies and urinalysis. In the fundus diffuse atrophy of the retinal pigment epithelium and patchy foci of choroidal atrophy were observed, and sparkling yellowish-white spots were scattered, chiefly in the posterior region. Fluorescein angiography showed neither hyperfluorescence nor hypofluorescence at these spots. In the marginal cornea and the limbal conjunctiva crystalline deposits were observed. Histological findings by light microscopy and electron microscopy revealed sparse degeneration of epithelial cells in both the cornea and the limbal conjunctiva. But no substances corresponding to crystalline deposits could be identified. Inclusion bodies were detected including clefts in circulating lymphocytes and eosinophils. The inclusion bodies suggest that crystalline retinopathy results from a systemic metabolic abnormality.