Among the identified risk factors of age-related macular degeneration, sunlight is known to induce cumulative damage to the retina. A photosensitive derivative of the visual pigment, N-retinylidene-N-retinylethanolamine (A2E), may be involved in this phototoxicity. The high energy visible light between 380 nm and 500 nm (blue light) is incriminated. Our aim was to define the most toxic waveleng...

Studies on the formation of ommochrome pigment granules are very few, despite their generalized occurrence as screening pigments in insect eyes. This is particularly true for ommochrome granules responsible for epidermal coloration. The aims of this study were to characterize the localization of major body pigments in a color changing mimetic spider, Misumena vatia (Thomisidae), and to describe...

PURPOSE To characterize the phagocytosis of extracellular matrix components by retinal pigment epithelial cells and to determine which receptors and signal transduction pathways are involved. METHODS Fluorescent latex beads were coated with fibronectin (FN), collagen type I or IV, or thrombospondin and incubated with human retinal pigment epithelial cells for 3 hours. Phagocytosis was quantif...

BACKGROUND The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the effectiveness of an integrin peptide ligand-labeled liposomal delivery system loaded with vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-siRNA in a model study of gene therapy for retinopathy using human retinal pigment epithelial cells. METHODS Arg(R)-Gly(G)-Asp(D) motif peptide conjugating polyethylene glycol modified (RGD-PEGylated) li...

The pigment composition of the haptophyte Chrysochromulina polylepis (Strain CCMP 286) was analysed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) using pyridine-containing mobile phases and polymeric C18, or monomeric C8 columns. The polar chlorophyll (chl) c pigment composition included chl c2 and chl c3 as major fractions, and divinyl protochlorophyllide a (DV pchlide or MgDVP) as a minor ...

Colourful plumages observed in many birds provide ideal systems for investigating the control and function of animal signals, because we can identify the molecular currency (e.g. pigments, tissue structures) and thus the challenges associated with the production of the trait. To date, most attention has been paid to the signalling costs and benefits of the common pigmentary (e.g. carotenoidandm...

background and objectives : halophilic bacteria produce a variety of pigments, which function as immune modulators and have prophylactic action against cancers. in this study, colorful halophilic bacteria were isolated from solar salt lake and their pigments was extracted in optimal environmental conditions and compared with the pigments of halorubrum sodomense atcc 33755. materials and methods...

Solar-induced fluorescence from pigments in the host tissues of reef corals can make a significant contribution to their spectral signature and can affect their apparent color as perceived by a human observer. The relative magnitudes of the reflectance and fluorescence contributions to the spectrum can vary as a function of illumination conditions. We have combined measured coral reflectance an...