rss
Br J Ophthalmol 2006;90:391-393 doi:10.1136/bjo.2005.085803
  • Letter

Sulphation patterns of keratan sulphate proteoglycan in sclerocornea resemble cornea rather than sclera

  1. R D Young1,
  2. A J Quantock1,
  3. C Sotozono2,
  4. N Koizumi2,3,
  5. S Kinoshita2
  1. 1Structural Biophysics Group, School of Optometry and Vision Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
  2. 2Department of Ophthalmology, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan
  3. 3Research Center for Regenerative Medicine, Doshisha University, Kyoto, Japan
  1. Correspondence to: Professor Shigeru Kinoshita Department of Ophthalmology, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kawaramachi-hirokoji, kamigyo-ku, Kyoto 602-0841, Japan; shigeruk{at}ophth.kpu-m.ac.jp
  • Accepted 24 November 2005

Sclerocornea is one of the most frequent causes of congenital blindness,1 in which the cornea is opaque and resembles sclera at birth.2 The stromal matrix in sclera and in cornea is composed of collagen fibrils, with proteoglycans (PGs) in the interfibrillar space fulfilling important roles in relation to tissue structure and function. Sclera and cornea contain distinct PG populations. Whereas the predominant corneal PG carries highly sulphated keratan sulphate (KS) glycosaminoglycans (GAGs), sulphated KSPGs are not major scleral components.3 Here, we investigate if sclerocornea is more like sclera or cornea in terms of its KSPG molecular profile.

CASE REPORT

An 8 month old girl, born at 39 weeks after an uncomplicated pregnancy and delivery, had bilateral corneal opacification and was referred to Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine. There was no family history of eye disease. Slit lamp examination disclosed diffuse, full thickness opacification, which was more severe in her left eye (fig 1A), preventing examination of the anterior chamber. Ultrasound biomicroscopy detected synechiae between …

[Full text of this article]

This Article

  1. Extract
  2. Full text
  3. PDF

Responses

  1. Submit a response
  2. No responses published

Social bookmarking

Register for free content


Free sample
 This recent issue is free to all users to allow everyone the opportunity to see the full scope and typical content of BJO.
View free sample issue >>

Free archive
The full back archive is now available for BJO. Institutional subscribers may access the entire archive as part of their subscription. Personal subscribers will also have access to all content when logged in. Non-subscribers who register have free access to all articles published before 2006, back to volume 1 issue 1.
Register to access the free archive >>

Don't forget to sign up for content alerts so you keep up to date with all the articles as they are published.