Rupalatha Maddala, PhD was the lead author of the cover focus, of the Journal of Cell Science Insight's December Issue. Duke Co-authors include Pallavi Gorijavolu, Levi Lankford, Nikolai Skiba, PhD. Pratap Challa, MD, and Ponugoti Rao, PhD.
The study. "Dysregulation of septin cytoskeletal organization in the trabecular meshwork contributes to ocular hypertension," focuses on a protein structure called the septin cytoskeleton in the eye's trabecular meshwork, which helps regulate eye pressure. They found that when this structure is disrupted, it can lead to high eye pressure, a condition known as ocular hypertension. The cover image of their report shows how septin-7 (a specific protein) interacts with other cell structures in the trabecular meshwork. This interaction is visualized using different colors: red for actin stress fibers and blue for cell nuclei.