Abstract
PurposeDistribution of intermediate filament (IF) proteins in normal extraocular muscles (EOMs) showed that the EOMs differ significantly from the other muscles in the body with respect to their IFs composition, including desmin and nestin. The aim of the present study was to investigate the pathological changes in the medial rectus (MR) in patients with concomitant exotropia (XT).MethodsForty-six MR muscle samples from 46 patients with XT were analyzed pathologically and processed for immunohistochemistry with specific antibodies against desmin and nestin.ResultsAlthough most of MR muscles remained normal structures relatively, they presented high expression of desmin, and in contrast, nestin was absent in a large proportion of the MR muscles.ConclusionDesmin, which is downregulated in normal EOMs, had high expression in MR muscles of patients with XT. Nestin, which is present in a high proportion of normal EOMs, was downregulated in MR muscles of patients with XT.
Highlights
Strabismus, including concomitant strabismus and incomitant strabismus, is one of the most common disorders in pediatric ophthalmology, with an estimated prevalence of 3–5% worldwide [1]
The normal extraocular muscles (EOMs) differ from typical skeletal muscles at the cellular and molecular level, in particular regarding the composition of the major proteins determining contraction force and velocity, calcium transportation proteins, extracellular matrix proteins, and neuromuscular junction gangliosides [3,4,5,6]
We investigated the pathological changes in the medial rectus (MR) muscles in patients with concomitant exotropia (XT), in order to identify whether there are special morphologic changes or expression of intermediate filament (IF) proteins in these muscles
Summary
Strabismus, including concomitant strabismus and incomitant strabismus, is one of the most common disorders in pediatric ophthalmology, with an estimated prevalence of 3–5% worldwide [1]. Concomitant strabismus is characterized by a constant angle of deviation in all fields of gaze, and the deviation amplitude remains the same with either eye fixating. Hitherto in this type of horizontal deviation, there was no characteristic pathological change detected in extraocular muscles (EOMs) and its neurological innervations. In the patients with concomitant strabismus, the pathological structures and protein levels are probably more different from the normal EOMs and typical skeletal muscles. Our previous study confirmed the abnormal expression of structural proteins in some of the 324 EOMs of 278 patients with concomitant strabismus (unpublished data). Recent study on distribution of intermediate filament (IF) proteins in normal EOMs showed that the EOMs differ significantly from the other muscles in the body with respect to their IFs composition, including desmin and nestin [8]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
