Original Articles


Drug Repurposing for Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) Based on Gene Co-Expression Network Analysis

Sina Samadi, Zahra Ghalandari, Habib MotieGhader, Masoud Maleki, AmirHosseinYari Yari, Ali Rezapour

Journal of Ophthalmic and Optometric Sciences, Vol. 4 No. 2 (2020), 10 April 2020, Page 1-14
https://doi.org/10.22037/joos.v3i3.36781

Background: Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a lesser-known eye disease in the world that gradually destroys a person’s vision by creating dark spots in the center of vision. Material and Methods: Samples of AMD-related genes were extracted from the NCBI, then the gene expression network (GCN) was extracted. In addition, pathway enrichment analysis was performed to investigate the role of co-expressed genes in AMD. Finally, the drug-gene interaction network was plotted.
Results: The results of this work based on bioinformatics showed that many genes are involved in AMD disease, the most important of which are the genes of TYROBP, LILRB2, LCP2, PTPRC, CFH, SPARC, HTR5A.
Overexpression of these genes can be considered as basic biomarkers for this disease, we separated some of which we had from the gene co-expression network and some from the results of genes ontology (genes that have a P value ≤ 0.05). The most important drugs were isolated from the drug-gene network based on degree, which included 5 drugs including ocriplasmin, collagenase clostridium histolyticum, topiramate, primidone, butalbital.
Conclusion: Among the genes we found, three genes of CFH, TYROBP, SPARC seem to be more important than the others. Among drugs, ocriplasmin, topiramate, primidone can play a more important role based on the degree in the drug-gene network, because all steps are performed with different bioinformatics methods, clinical trials must confirm or reject the results.
Keywords: Age-Related Macular Degeneration; AMD; Co-Expression Network; Drug Repurposing.

Transcriptomic Analysis of Human Retina Reveals Molecular Mechanisms Underlying Diabetic Retinopathy in Sexually Divergent Manner

Mahdiye Ghorbani, Ehsan Pournoor, Mazaher Maghsoudloo

Journal of Ophthalmic and Optometric Sciences, Vol. 4 No. 2 (2020), 10 April 2020, Page 15-26
https://doi.org/10.22037/joos.v4i2.37343

Today, retinopathy is one of the major causes of vision loss. With the increasing prevalence of obesity, diabetes, blood fat, and hypertension, the number of patients with retinopathy is increasing. Gender is an important factor in a variety of retinal diseases but has rarely been studied in clinical and biological studies. The current understanding of the effect of gender on molecular changes and pathways involved in the onset and progression of diabetic retinopathy (DR) is limited.

The aim of this study is to investigate the differences in Diabetic patients’ retinal gene expression between the two sexes. Through RNAseq analysis, mRNA expression profiles were analyzed from 40 post-mortem samples from 20 patients with diabetic macular edema (DME) stage of DR. 29 of samples were female and 11 were male. So our groups were control-female, DME-female, control-male and, DME-male. Human retinal single-cell RNA‑Sequencing data revealed 245 differently expressed genes in female-DME and male-DME patients.

The results of enrichment analysis show that most up-regulated genes take part in pathways involved in Osteoclast-associated receptor (OSCAR) binds collagen and Surfactant protein D (SP-D), apoptosis, and tyrosine metabolism molecular functions.

In this study, we detected a significant association between tyrosine metabolism and diabetic retinopathy in the DME stage. The increased DR risk was observed only in female patients with the abnormality of low tyrosine metabolism. Furthermore, we found a significant interaction between DR and the coexistence of low tyrosine metabolism. Suggesting that control of tyrosine metabolism might confer great risk reduction for DR in female patients.

Anti-Cancer Drugs Effective in Retinoblastoma: Based on a Protein-Protein Interaction Network

Amirhossein Yari, Ali Khalili, Sina Samadi, Habib MotieGhader, Masoud Maleki, Ali Rezapour

Journal of Ophthalmic and Optometric Sciences, Vol. 4 No. 2 (2020), 10 April 2020, Page 27-40
https://doi.org/10.22037/joos.v3i4.36778

Background: This paper investigates the effects of potential drugs on differentially expressed genes (DEGs) associated with substantial alterations in retinoblastoma malignancy.
Material and Methods: The GSE125903 dataset consisting of ten samples was used in this study (seven cancer patients and three control samples). The genes were ordered according to their adjusted p value, and 2000 top differential expressed genes with adj p values less than 0.01 were chosen as statistically significant. The STRING database version 11.0 was used to display the interaction among genes. The Cytoscape3.8.2 and the Clusterviz plugin software were used to construct the modules for the PPI network, and five clusters of genes were formed. The DGIdb v4.2.0 database was used to study drug-gene interactions and identify potentially beneficial medicines for retinoblastoma malignancy. The DAVID v.6.8 database was used to study gene ontology (GO) and important biological pathways.
Results: CISPLATIN, TAMOXIFEN, and CYCLOPHOSPHAMIDE are the medicines that have been shown to be successful in treating retinoblastoma in our study. Additionally, we conducted a research on three other drugs: GEMCITABINE, OLAPARIB, and MITOXANTRONE. Although it is used to treat other diseases, it seems to have no apparent effects on retinoblastoma cancer treatment.
Conclusion: CISPLATIN, a drug that causes apoptosis in tumors, has been proven to be the most effective therapy for retinoblastoma and should be included in treatment regimens for this illness. Of course, we obtained this information based on bioinformatics techniques, and more clinical trials are needed for more reliable results.
Keywords: Protein-Protein Interaction Network; Retinoblastoma; Anti-Cancer.

Suitable Stimulation Technique to Record Visual Evoked Potential in Migraine Patients

Seyed Mohammad Masoud Shushtarian

Journal of Ophthalmic and Optometric Sciences, Vol. 4 No. 2 (2020), 10 April 2020, Page 41-45
https://doi.org/10.22037/joos.v4i2.36361

Abstract

Background: Migraine is a very common primary headache disorder associated with intermittent attacks and great suffering. To deal with these patients, different diagnostic techniques may be used. Visual evoked potential (VEP) is one of useful techniques in this respect. Flash (F) and pattern reversal checkerboard (PRC) are two stimulating techniques to record VEP. The aim of present work is to compare these two techniques in migraine patients & look for the optimum technique.

Material and Methods: Flash and pattern reversal checkerboard visual evoked potential was recorded in 20 migraine patients (with 40 eyes). The age range was 20 -30 years and BCVA was 10/10 in total subjects. Latency (msec) and amplitude (µv) of VEP, and P100 Peak were noted for each patient. The results obtained were compared together.

 

Results: The mean latencies were 103.65 ± 11.89 and 112.07 ± 4.39 for pattern reversal checkerboard and flash stimulation, respectively. On the other hand, the mean amplitudes were 8.16 ± 1.60 and 8.34 ± 2.15 for pattern reversal checkerboard and flash stimulations, respectively. The VEP difference were significant (P < 0.001) for latency whereas the amplitude difference is not significant (P = 0.513), as far as two types of stimulations were concerned.

Conclusion: From the present work results, one can conclude that pattern reversal checkerboard is a suitable technique to record VEP in migraine patients.

Keywords: Migraine, Pattern reversal checkerboard visual evoked potential, Flash Visual evoked potential, Stimulation technique.

Case Reports


Pneumosinus Dilatans Causing Field of Vision Deviation: A Case Report

Maryam Yadgari, Mostafa Soltan Sanjari, Mansoor Shahriari , Sahar Mahmudinejad Azar

Journal of Ophthalmic and Optometric Sciences, Vol. 4 No. 2 (2020), 10 April 2020, Page 46-49
https://doi.org/10.22037/joos.v4i2.36384

Pneumosinus dilatans (PSD) is a rare condition which may cause visual impairment. Here we present the case of a 15-year-old boy with PSD. The vision was 10/10 and the intraocular pressure was in normal range for both eyes. Other eye examinations were normal except for a slight discoloration of the optic nerve. Optical coherence tomography showed a decrease in the thickness of the nerve fiber layer and the patient's primary field of vision had a mean deviation of -3.44 and -6.39 in the right and left eyes. 

Review Articles


Corneal Endothelial Cell Loss in Glaucoma Treatment Procedures: A Brief Review

Maryam Yadgari, Mansoor Shahriari

Journal of Ophthalmic and Optometric Sciences, Vol. 4 No. 2 (2020), 10 April 2020, Page 50-54
https://doi.org/10.22037/joos.v4i2.36395

Abstract
Glaucoma surgeons should be careful about damage to the corneal endothelial cells during glaucoma surgeries particularly during glaucoma drainage device implantation. The patients should be monitored for possible corneal decompensation. Also shunt procedures should be performed with a wider tube corneal angle to avoid possible endothelial cell damage. Here we briefly review corneal endothelial cell loss in different glaucoma treatment methods.
Keywords: Cornea; Endothelial Cell Loss; Glaucoma; Review.

Cell and Molecular Mechanisms of Retinal Ganglion Cell Degeneration in Glaucoma

Yalda Yaghooti, Bita Shalbafan, Fatemeh Abdi

Journal of Ophthalmic and Optometric Sciences, Vol. 4 No. 2 (2020), 10 April 2020, Page 55-71
https://doi.org/10.22037/joos.v4i2.36927

Abstract
Glaucoma is an eye disorder in which intraocular pressure is elevated and retinal ganglion cells therefore degenerate. It is a multifaceted ailment with multiple cell types and pathways involved, all working together and giving rise to optic nerve degeneration. Current drugs used in the treatment of glaucoma all work by lowering intraocular pressure and only slowing the progression of the optic nerve damage. No drugs have yet been shown to effectively target retinal ganglion cells and help regain the lost vision. It is of great importance to understand the cellular and molecular processes involved in glaucomatous neurodegeneration to be able to identify potential targets of treatment. The current review attempts to provide insight into these processes. First, an overview of the disease is provided and then, cell types other than retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) that contribute to the neurodegeneration process (including lamina cribrosa cells, astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, and
microglia) and cellular and molecular events in the RGCs leading to their degeneration and death (such as mitochondrial dysfunction, axonal transport disruption, calcium dyshomeostasis, oxidative stress, apoptosis, and endothelial reticulum stress) are explained.
Keywords: Glaucoma; Retinal Ganglion Cell; Neurodegeneration; Apoptosis; Cellular Components;
Signaling Pathways.