Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Contributors
- Part I General Principles of Cell Death
- Part II Cell Death in Tissues and Organs
- 11 Cell Death in Nervous System Development and Neurological Disease
- 12 Role of Programmed Cell Death in Neurodegenerative Disease
- 13 Implications of Nitrosative Stress-Induced Protein Misfolding in Neurodegeneration
- 14 Mitochondrial Mechanisms of Neural Cell Death in Cerebral Ischemia
- 15 Cell Death in Spinal Cord Injury – An Evolving Taxonomy with Therapeutic Promise
- 16 Apoptosis and Homeostasis in the Eye
- 17 Cell Death in the Inner Ear
- 18 Cell Death in the Olfactory System
- 19 Contribution of Apoptosis to Physiologic Remodeling of the Endocrine Pancreas and Pathophysiology of Diabetes
- 20 Apoptosis in the Physiology and Diseases of the Respiratory Tract
- 21 Regulation of Cell Death in the Gastrointestinal Tract
- 22 Apoptosis in the Kidney
- 23 Physiologic and Pathological Cell Death in the Mammary Gland
- 24 Therapeutic Targeting Apoptosis in Female Reproductive Biology
- 25 Apoptotic Signaling in Male Germ Cells
- 26 Cell Death in the Cardiovascular System
- 27 Cell Death Regulation in Muscle
- 28 Cell Death in the Skin
- 29 Apoptosis and Cell Survival in the Immune System
- 30 Cell Death Regulation in the Hematopoietic System
- 31 Apoptotic Cell Death in Sepsis
- 32 Host–Pathogen Interactions
- Part III Cell Death in Nonmammalian Organisms
- Plate section
- References
16 - Apoptosis and Homeostasis in the Eye
from Part II - Cell Death in Tissues and Organs
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 07 September 2011
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Contributors
- Part I General Principles of Cell Death
- Part II Cell Death in Tissues and Organs
- 11 Cell Death in Nervous System Development and Neurological Disease
- 12 Role of Programmed Cell Death in Neurodegenerative Disease
- 13 Implications of Nitrosative Stress-Induced Protein Misfolding in Neurodegeneration
- 14 Mitochondrial Mechanisms of Neural Cell Death in Cerebral Ischemia
- 15 Cell Death in Spinal Cord Injury – An Evolving Taxonomy with Therapeutic Promise
- 16 Apoptosis and Homeostasis in the Eye
- 17 Cell Death in the Inner Ear
- 18 Cell Death in the Olfactory System
- 19 Contribution of Apoptosis to Physiologic Remodeling of the Endocrine Pancreas and Pathophysiology of Diabetes
- 20 Apoptosis in the Physiology and Diseases of the Respiratory Tract
- 21 Regulation of Cell Death in the Gastrointestinal Tract
- 22 Apoptosis in the Kidney
- 23 Physiologic and Pathological Cell Death in the Mammary Gland
- 24 Therapeutic Targeting Apoptosis in Female Reproductive Biology
- 25 Apoptotic Signaling in Male Germ Cells
- 26 Cell Death in the Cardiovascular System
- 27 Cell Death Regulation in Muscle
- 28 Cell Death in the Skin
- 29 Apoptosis and Cell Survival in the Immune System
- 30 Cell Death Regulation in the Hematopoietic System
- 31 Apoptotic Cell Death in Sepsis
- 32 Host–Pathogen Interactions
- Part III Cell Death in Nonmammalian Organisms
- Plate section
- References
Summary
Although the human eye is only a few centimeters in diameter, it contains an extraordinary array of cells and tissues, some of which are found in no other organ (Figure 16-1). The eye is an anatomical extension of the brain and processes an enormously complex array of information that provides us with our most precious sense – our vision. The retinal ganglion cells process more than 500 electrical signals per second, which is roughly equivalent to 109 bits of computer information. The conversion of photons of light that enter the eye to crisp visual images in the brain is orchestrated by a diverse array of cells and tissues with vastly different properties and functions. Apoptosis and apoptosis-like processes contribute to the embryonic development of the mammalian eye in the womb and the long-term function of the visual axis from the time of birth to death. The eye, like other components of the central nervous system, is composed of cells that have limited and sometimes no capacity for regeneration. As a result, immune-mediated inflammation can lead to blindness. However, the fluids that fill the eye contain an extraordinary variety of immunosuppressive and anti-inflammatory molecules that control inflammation produced by elements of the innate and adaptive immune systems. Among these eye-derived factors are molecules that induce apoptosis of inflammatory cells. In addition, antigens that enter the eye elicit a unique deviation of the immune response that actively suppresses antigen-specific immune responses such as delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH), which nonspecifically damages innocent bystander cells within the eye. Interestingly, apoptosis is intimately involved in the induction of this ocular immune deviation.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- ApoptosisPhysiology and Pathology, pp. 176 - 181Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2011