Person:
Crooke Álvarez, Almudena

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First Name
Almudena
Last Name
Crooke Álvarez
Affiliation
Universidad Complutense de Madrid
Faculty / Institute
Óptica y Optometría
Department
Bioquímica y Biología Molecular
Area
Bioquímica y Biología Molecular
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Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    Signs and Symptoms of Dry Eye in Keratoconus Patients: A Pilot Study
    (Current Eye Research, 2015) Carracedo Rodríguez, Juan Gonzalo; Recchioni, Alberto; Alejandre Alba, Nicolás; Martín Gil, Alba; Crooke Álvarez, Almudena; Jiménez Alfaro-Morote, Ignacio; Pintor Just, Jesús Jerónimo
    Purpose: To compare signs and symptoms of dry eye in keratoconus (KC) patients versus healthy subjects. Methods: A total of 15 KC patients (KC group, n = 15 eyes) and 16 healthy subjects (control group, 16 eyes) were enrolled in this study. The Schirmer I test with no anesthetic, tear break-up time (TBUT), corneal staining characteristics, and ocular surface disease index (OSDI) scores were evaluated for both groups. Impression cytology, combined with/scanning laser confocal microscopy (LCM), was performed to evaluate goblet cell density, mucin cloud height (MCH), and goblet cell layer thickness (CLT). Finally, tear concentrations of di-adenosine tetraphosphate (Ap4A) were assessed. Results were statistically analyzed using Shapiro–Wilk and non-parametric Wilcoxon rank sum tests. Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05. Results: KC patients had lower tear volumes and greater corneal staining than did healthy subjects (p < 0.05). OSDI scores were 44.96 ± 8.65 and 17.78 ± 6.50 for the KC and control groups, respectively (p < 0.05). We found no statistically significant differences in TBUT between groups. Impression cytology revealed lower goblet cell densities in KC group patients versus control group subjects (84.88 ± 32.98 and 128.88 ± 50.60 cells/mm,2 respectively, p < 0.05). There was a statistically significant reduction in MCH and CLT in KC group patients compared with control group subjects. Ap4A tear concentrations were higher in KC group patients than in control group subjects (2.56 ± 1.10 and 0.15 ± 0.12 µM, respectively, p < 0.05). Conclusions: The parameters evaluated in this study indicate that KC patients suffer greater symptoms of dry eye and greater tear instability, primarily due to the decreased mucin production in their tears, than do healthy patients with no KC.
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    PhDAY 2020 -FOO (Facultad de Óptica y Optometría)
    (2020) Pintor Just, Jesús Jerónimo; Carpena Torres, Carlos; Peral Cerda, María Asunción; Pérez de Lara, María Jesús; Toral, Fernando; Crooke Álvarez, Almudena; Pastrana Robles, Cristina; Carracedo Rodríguez, Juan Gonzalo; Cayuela López, Ana; Sorzano Sánchez, Óscar; Charbel, Carla; Garzón Jiménez, Nuria; Carballo Álvarez, Jesús; Diz Arias, Elena; Fernández Jiménez, Elena; Lledó Mayans, Victoria Eugenia; Gómez Pedrero, José Antonio; Durán Prieto, Elena; López Alonso, José Manuel; Fernández Torres, Miguel Ángel; Guzmán Aránguez, Ana Isabel; Gómez Manzanares, Ángela; Vázquez Molini, Daniel; Martínez Antón, Juan Carlos; Bernárdez Vilaboa, Ricardo; Mayorga Pinilla, Santiago; Álvarez Fernández-Balbuena, Antonio; Benítez, AntoJ.; Igalla El-Youssfi, Asmae; León Álvarez, Alejandro; Palomo Álvarez, Catalina; Awad Alkozi, Hanan; Sánchez Naves, Juan; Martínez Alberquilla, Irene; García Montero, María; Ruiz Alcocer, Javier; Madrid Costa, David; Martínez Florentín, Gema; Papas, Eric B.; Medrano Muñoz, Sandra Milena; Molina, Nancy; Jurado, Sandra; Oliveiros López, Juan; Platero Alvarado, Nadiuska Cristine; Garrido Mercado, Rafaela; Pérez Garmendia, Carlos; Antona Peñalba, Beatriz; Barrio De Santos, Ana Rosa; González Pérez, Mariano; Pérez Garmendia, Carlos; Serramito Blanco, María; Privado Aroco, Ana; Almalki, Wael; Bodas Romero, Julia; Ouzzani, Mohamed; Paune, Jaume; Calderón García, Raquel; Pitarch Velasco, Aída; Cebrián, José Luis; Sánchez Pérez, María Isabel; García Rojo, Marta María; Bonnin Arias, Cristina Natalia; Sánchez Ramos, Celia; Gutiérrez Jorrín, Sara Carmen; Rodríguez Alonso, Xabier; Laucirica Sáenz, Gorka; Arranz Márquez, Esther; Alonso Castellanos, Miriam; Teus Guezala, Miguel Ángel; Hernández Verdejo, José Luis; Mármol Errasti, Esther; Martín García, Beatriz; Arriola Villalobos, Pedro; Gómez De Liaño Sánchez, María Rosario; Mínguez Caro, N; Orduña Azcona, Javier; Navarro Gil, Francisco Javier; Huete Toral, Fernando; Rodríguez Pomar, Candela; Martínez Águila, Alejandro; Martín Gil, Alba; Tomé de la Torre, Miguel Ángel
    Por cuarto año consecutivo los doctorandos de la Facultad de Óptica y Optometría de la Universidad Complutense de Madrid cuentan con un congreso propio organizado por y para ellos, el 4º PhDAY- FOO. Se trata de un congreso gratuito abierto en la que estos jóvenes científicos podrán presentar sus investigaciones al resto de sus compañeros predoctorales y a toda la comunidad universitaria que quiera disfrutar de este evento. Apunta en tu agenda: el 15 de octubre de 2020. En esta ocasión será un Congreso On-line para evitar que la incertidumbre asociada a la pandemia Covid-19 pudiera condicionar su celebración.
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    Silencing of P2Y2 receptors reduces intraocular pressure in New Zealand rabbits
    (British Journal of Pharmacology, 2012) María Jesús Perez de Lara; Concepción Santano; Martín Gil, Alba; Crooke Álvarez, Almudena; Peral Cerda, María Asunción; Pintor Just, Jesús Jerónimo
    BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: P2 receptors are involved in the regulation of ocular physiological processes like intraocular pressure (IOP). In the present study, the involvement of P2Y2 receptors in the hypertensive effect of nucleotides was investigated by use of antagonists and of a siRNA designed for the P2Y2 receptor. EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH: Agonists of the P2Y2 receptor a as well as P2 antagonists were applied to eyes of New Zealand rabbits, and the changes in IOP were followed for up to 6 h. Cloning of the P2Y2 receptor cDNA was done using a combination of degenerate reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR) and rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE). siRNA was synthesized and tested by immunohistochemistry. KEY RESULTS: Single doses of 2-thioUTP, UTP-γ-S and UTP increased IOP. This behaviour was concentration-dependent and partially antagonized by reactive blue 2. Silencing the P2Y2 receptor was observed in the ciliary body by immunohistochemistry labelling, where a reduction in the immunofluorescence was observed. This reduction in the expression of the P2Y2 receptor was concomitant with a reduction in IOP, which was measurable 24 h after treatment with the siRNA, maximal after 2 days, followed by a slow increase towards control values for the following 5 days. Application of the P2Y2 agonists after pretreatment of the animals with this siRNA did not produce any change in IOP. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: P2Y2 receptors increase IOP in New Zealand rabbits. The application of a siRNA for this receptor significantly reduced IOP, suggesting that this technology might be used for the treatment of glaucoma.
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    Involvement of carbonic anhydrases in the ocular hypotensive effect of melatonin analogue 5‐MCA‐NAT
    (Journal of Pineal Research, 2011) Martínez Águila, Alejandro; Crooke Álvarez, Almudena; Huete Toral, Fernando; Martín Gil, Alba; Pintor Just, Jesús Jerónimo
    We have previously demonstrated that melatonin and its analogue, 5-methoxycarbonylamino-N-acetyltryptamine (5-MCA-NAT), reduce intraocular pressure (IOP) in New Zealand rabbits. More recently, we have shown that 5-MCA-NAT can also regulate ciliary adrenoceptor gene expression. Like adrenoceptors, carbonic anhydrase (CA) enzymes are involved in aqueous humour secretion by the ocular ciliary epithelium. Moreover, CA enzymes have been reported to be regulated by melatonin. Hence, the aim of this study was to investigate whether the hypotensive effect of 5-MCA-NAT is also because of a regulation of CA genes and enzymes. Time course of 5-MCA-NAT effect on rabbit IOP was followed for 7 hr every day for up to 144 hr (6 days). 5-MCA-NAT reduced IOP, maximally by 51.30 ± 2.41% (at 3 hr), and the hypotensive effect was maintained for up to 96 hr with a single application. IOP studies with 5-MCA-NAT plus Trusopt® and immunohistochemical analysis confirmed that CA are molecular targets of 5-MCA-NAT. In addition, real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) and immunocytochemical assays were performed to determine changes in CA2 (CAII) and CA12 (CAXII) expression in cultured rabbit nonpigmented ciliary epithelial cells (NPE) treated with 5-MCA-NAT. NPE cells showed a prominent decrease in both CA, at the mRNA and protein levels. These data confirm that the long-term hypotensive effect of 5-MCA-NAT is also due, to a down-regulation of CA2 (CAII) and CA12 (CAXII) expression.