Eye diseases articles within Nature Communications

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• Article | 26 March 2015

  EphrinB2 controls vessel pruning through STAT1-JNK3 signalling

  Pruning of newly formed blood vessels is an important and yet poorly understood aspect of angiogenesis. Here the authors show that endothelial phosphotyrosine-dependent EphrinB2 signalling represses JNK3 function via STAT1, and identify JNK3 as an effector of endothelial cell death and vessel pruning in mice.

  • Ombretta Salvucci
  • , Hidetaka Ohnuki
  •  & Giovanna Tosato

• Article
  04 March 2015 | Open Access

  Adiponectin receptor 1 conserves docosahexaenoic acid and promotes photoreceptor cell survival

  Docosahexaenoic acid is a major and important retinal fatty acid that is recruited and retained in the photoreceptor membrane via an unknown mechanism. Here, Rice et al. show that adiponectin receptor 1 is a key molecular switch for docosahexaenoic acid membrane homeostasis and photoreceptor cell function.

  • Dennis S. Rice
  • , Jorgelina M. Calandria
  •  & Nicolas G. Bazan

• Article
  23 January 2015 | Open Access

  Gene therapy restores vision in rd1 mice after removal of a confounding mutation in Gpr179

  The rd1 mouse is the most widely used model to study retinal degeneration. Here, the authors identify a wide-spread mutation in these mice that may explain the failure of previous gene therapeutic approaches and show that long-lasting restoration of vision is possible in rd1 mice without this mutation.

  • Koji M. Nishiguchi
  • , Livia S. Carvalho
  •  & Robin R. Ali

• Article | 09 January 2015

  Mutations in PNPLA6 are linked to photoreceptor degeneration and various forms of childhood blindness

  Blindness due to retinal degeneration affects millions of people worldwide, but many disease-causing mutations remain unknown. Here the authors link mutations in the gene PNPLA6 with childhood blindness in seven families with retinal degeneration and show that the gene plays a role in photoreceptor survival in Drosophila.

  • S. Kmoch
  • , J. Majewski
  •  & R. K. Koenekoop

• Article | 12 November 2014

  Unencapsulated Streptococcus pneumoniae from conjunctivitis encode variant traits and belong to a distinct phylogenetic cluster

  Pneumococci can cause a variety of bacterial infections including conjunctivitis. Here, Valentino et al.show that most conjunctivitis-causing pneumococci belong to a closely related group of strains that possess a unique set of putative virulence factors.

  • Michael D. Valentino
  • , Abigail Manson McGuire
  •  & Michael S. Gilmore

• Article
  22 September 2014 | Open Access

  Meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies identifies novel loci that influence cupping and the glaucomatous process

  Glaucoma is the most common cause of irreversible blindness worldwide. Here, the authors carry out a large meta-analysis of genetic data from individuals of European and Asian ancestry and identify 10 new loci associated with vertical cup-disc ratio, a key factor in the clinical assessment of patients with glaucoma.

  • Henriët. Springelkamp
  • , René Höhn
  •  & Christopher J. Hammond

• Article
  27 March 2014 | Open Access

  SLC7A14 linked to autosomal recessive retinitis pigmentosa

  Retinitis pigmentosa is the leading cause of inherited blindness worldwide. Here, the authors use exome sequencing to identify mutations in SLC7A14that may be linked to the disease, and provide functional support for the role of this gene in retinal development and visual function in mice and zebrafish.

  • Zi-Bing Jin
  • , Xiu-Feng Huang
  •  & Jia Qu

• Article | 07 January 2014

  Wafer-scale design of lightweight and transparent electronics that wraps around hairs

  Realising flexible, lightweight and transparent electronics is a continuous challenge. Here, the authors report a process to create such transistor devices, which can be transferred onto various flexible substrates, and continue to function when wrapped around human hairs.

  • Giovanni A. Salvatore
  • , Niko Münzenrieder
  •  & Gerhard Tröster