Trial Information

Immunopathology and Molecular Pathology of Ocular Diseases in Humans

The purpose of this project is to diagnose and evaluate ocular and related tissues with
various diseases such as conjunctival, corneal, uveal, vitreoretinal, scleral and optic
nerve disorders, ocular degenerative, inflammatory, metabolic or genetic diseases and
tumors. These will be studied using light microscopy, electron microscopy, confocal
microscopy, immunohistochemistry, molecular pathology including microdissection and
polymerase chain reaction and in situ hybridization, as well as measuring the functions of
cellular organelles, e.g., mitochondrial function. Lymphocytes in the peripheral blood,
serum, as well as other involved biopsied tissues and ocular tissue will be compared and
categorized by disease and normal. Cytokines, chemokines, growth factors, antibodies, and/or
other released molecules in the blood, CNF, and ocular fluids will be also analyzed. We will
compare the tissue morphology as well as immunological and biochemical indexes, e.g.,
cytokine/chemokine levels, growth factors and antibodies between the diseases and normals.
Elucidating the relationship between the infiltrating cells, ocular resident cells, and
their products in various diseases will help us to make diagnoses and increase our
understanding of human ocular disorders.