Phacoemulsification and aspiration (PEA) has become the most popular surgery for cataracts. However, corneal endothelial damage still represents a serious complication, as excessive damage can lead to irreversible bullous keratopathy. The corneal endothelium can be damaged during phacoemulsification by such factors as excessive duration of phacoemulsification, localized temperature increases, and damage from lens nucleus fragments caused by the turbulent flow of the irrigating solution, air bubbles, or free radicals associated with ultrasound oscillation. We evaluated the various causes of damage to the corneal endothelium during PEA, aiming to establish safer methods of cataract surgery.

Dendritic cells (DCs) play an important role as professional antigen (Ag)-presenting cells in the context of HIV-1 infection and AIDS pathogenesis. DCs are unique, since all the CD1 molecules, namely CD1a, CD1b, CD1c and CD1d, are expressed in DCs. When DCs are infected with HIV-1, the product of HIV-1 accessory genes such as nef gene down-regulates both the lipid Ag presentation by CD1s and the peptide Ag presentation by MHC molecules, as well as their surface expression, which results in evasion from immune surveillance. It is also reported that CD1d-restricted NKT cells can be infected with HIV-1 and that their numbers are decreased in HIV-1 positive patients, which suggests the involvement of CD1 lipid Ag presentation in the context of HIV-1 infection. Thanks to anti-retroviral therapy (ART), the prognosis of patients with AIDS has been remarkably improved with the recovery of host immunity due to the suppression of HIV-1 proliferation. But HIV-1 survives ART in AIDS patients even after viral RNA levels become undetectable in the peripheral blood, hiding in so-called "reservoirs." Once ART is terminated, HIV-1 appears again. Therefore, we need to identify the HIV-1 reservoirs and exclude HIV-1 completely from them. DCs are strong candidates as HIV-1 reservoirs, so it is critical to clarify how HIV-1-infected DCs evade immune surveillance if AIDS is to be cured. In this review, we discuss the role of DCs in HIV-1 infection, and the role of hematopoietic cell kinase (Hck), which seems to be a key factor in the immune evasion of HIV-1 infected DCs. We also consider possible combination therapy with Hck inhibitors, lipid Ag stimulation of DCs and immune checkpoint inhibitors, in relation not only to AIDS but also to other chronic viral infections and malignant diseases.

Epidemiological evidence indicates that patients with diabetes mellitus are at increased risk for atherosclerotic cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Furthermore, recent reports have demonstrated that the risk for atherosclerotic events is increased even in individuals in a pre-diabetic state, for example in those with impaired glucose tolerance. Although a number of studies have investigated the molecular mechanisms underlying the causal role of hyperglycemia (both chronic and transient) in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis, little compelling evidence has been found in vivo. This article summarizes the potentials and pitfalls of using mouse models to study hyperglycemia-induced atherosclerosis in the hope of elucidating its complicated molecular mechanisms.

Over 190,000 patients die each year in japan due to ischemic heart disease. For these patients, percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) or coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) are done to improve the blood flow of coronary artery with stenosis. It would be better to prevent or mitigate the progress of atherosclerosis in these patients before requiring surgery. Recently, it has been reported that epicardial adipose tissue plays an important role in the progression of atherosclerosis and ischemic heart disease.

This review shows the recent trends about ischemic heart disease from the clinical perspective, including its' treatment, pathology and preventive measure.