Monovalent antibodies such as nanobodies that are specific for galectin-7 are described. These monovalent antibodies are able to interfere with the dimerization of galectin-7, and thus may be used for the treatment of diseases associated with dysregulated galectin-7 expression and/or activity, such as certain types of cancers as well as eye diseases or conditions associated with pathological neovascularization or angiogenesis.

The present invention provides biomarkers of oxidative stress in subjects with retinitis pigmentosa, age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, Fuchs' dystrophy, diabetic macular edema (DME), geographic atrophy, Stargardt's disease, or retinal vein occlusion (RVO), and their use in identifying subjects in need of treatment and methods for staging the severity of the disease.

Described herein is a method of preventing or treating ocular vascular hyperpermeability including macular edema, in a subject comprising inhibiting Sema3A activity. Also disclosed are compositions and their use for preventing or treating Sema3A-dependent ocular vascular hyperpermeability.

The present invention comprises a composition with means to inhibit an autoimmune response and methods for using this composition to treat glaucoma and optic neuropathy.

The instant invention provides methods and compositions related to discovery of Free Fatty Acid Receptor 1 (FFA1) as a therapeutic target for treatment or prevention of diseases or disorders of neurons that are characterized by angiogenesis, or of vascular diseases of the eye, retinal degeneration and/or tumors more generally. Therapeutic and/or prophylactic uses and compositions of known FFA1 inhibitors, including small molecules and nucleic acid agents, are described. Methods for identification of novel FFA1 inhibitors are also provided.

Provided herein are methods for generating stem cell-derived retinal pigment epithelial monolayer cultures as well as methods of using the same. Also provided are populations of retinal pigment epithelial cells prepared according to these methods. In addition, three-dimensional tissue products derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells are also provided along with methods of making and using the same.

An assay and kit for detecting N-retinylidene-N-retinylethanolamine (A2E) in a sample that uses a lipid binding protein, such as Saposin B, to capture A2E in the sample and assist in the extraction and measurement of A2E via mass spectroscopy. A2E thus serves as a marker for macular degeneration so that the assay and kit of the invention can be used to detect the presence or severity of macular degeneration.

The invention is directed to the use of biomarkers to determine responsiveness of an individual with wet AMD to treatment with a VEGF antagonist, to diagnose and distinguish dry and wet AMD and to determine the risk of conversion of a dry AMD disease to a wet AMD disease.

Disclosed herein are methods and compositions for the diagnosis and treatment of AMD based on SNPs, haplotypes, and diplotypes on chromosome 1 and chromosome 10.

The present invention provides a biosensor and an application of the same. The biosensor includes a substrate, a first polymer layer and a second polymer layer. The first polymer layer includes composite antibodies, each of which includes a first antibody and a labelling molecule. The second polymer layer has an inverse opal photonic crystal structure where gold nanoparticles and second antibodies are distributed. At least one of the composite antibodies, an antigen and at least one of the second antibodies forms a complex in the second polymer layer, and an antigen concentration is obtained by a fluorescence intensity, a degree of red-shift or a change in a visual color of the biosensor.