Scholars@Duke
Oleg Alekseev

Oleg Alekseev

Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology
Ophthalmology, Vitreoretinal Diseases & Surgery
2351 Erwin Road, Box 3802, Durham, NC 27705
ORCID iDhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-1179-194X

Scholarly Works

Association of Autosomal Dominant Snowflake Vitreoretinal Degeneration with Retinoschisis.

Journal article Ophthalmol Sci · June 2026 OBJECTIVE: To define and characterize the clinical association of autosomal dominant snowflake vitreoretinal degeneration (SVD) with retinochisis arising from a heterozygous KCNJ13 variant in unrelated multigenerational families and to investigate its gene ... Full text Link to item Cite

Adam9-deficient retinal pigment epithelium pseudopods maintain photoreceptor outer segment renewal despite subretinal space expansion.

Journal article J Clin Invest · April 1, 2026 Vision begins in the outer segment compartment of photoreceptor cells, which is constantly renewed through the addition of membrane material at its base and ingestion of mature membranes at its tip by the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE). The close apposit ... Full text Link to item Cite

Early-onset hydroxychloroquine maculopathy: on the importance of genetic work-up.

Journal article Retin Cases Brief Rep · April 1, 2026 PURPOSE: To report a case of bull's eye maculopathy in a 61-year-old female following short-term hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) exposure. METHODS: This was a retrospective chart review of a single patient case. RESULTS: The patient had normal macular anatomy at ... Full text Link to item Cite

Isolated bull's eye maculopathy in two siblings with biallelic TULP1 variants.

Journal article Ophthalmic Genet · March 30, 2026 INTRODUCTION: TUB-like protein 1 (TULP1) is a protein expressed in rod and cone photoreceptors, where it is thought to play a role in ciliary transport. Pathogenic variants in TULP1 have been implicated in a number of retinal conditions, including non-synd ... Full text Link to item Cite

Short stature, optic atrophy, and Pelger-Huët anomaly (SOPH) syndrome: report of a case lacking neutrophil morphologic changes and review of literature.

Journal article Ophthalmic Genet · February 2026 INTRODUCTION: Short stature, optic atrophy, and Pelger-Huët anomaly (SOPH) syndrome is a rare autosomal recessive condition associated with variants in the NBAS gene. First described in 2010, SOPH syndrome is a relatively newly recognized condition and our ... Full text Link to item Cite

RPE pseudopods maintain photoreceptor outer segment renewal despite subretinal space expansion in Adam9 knockout mice.

Journal article bioRxiv · December 19, 2025 Vision begins in the outer segment compartment of photoreceptor cells, which is constantly renewed through the addition of membrane material at its base and ingestion of mature membranes at its tip by the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE). The close apposit ... Full text Link to item Cite

Deep Learning Algorithm for the Diagnosis and Prediction of Hydroxychloroquine Retinopathy: An International, Multi-institutional Study.

Journal article Ophthalmol Retina · December 2025 PURPOSE: We present a deep learning algorithm-HCQuery-that detects the presence of hydroxychloroquine retinopathy and predicts its future occurrence from spectral-domain OCT (SD-OCT) images. DESIGN: We trained and validated a deep learning algorithm using ... Full text Link to item Cite

A novel missense TUBB4B variant outside of the canonical hotspot is associated with cone-rod dystrophy and sensorineural hearing loss.

Journal article Ophthalmic Genet · December 2025 INTRODUCTION: Pathogenic variants in TUBB4B, which encodes the β-tubulin 4B isotype of microtubule subunits, have been associated with Leber congenital amaurosis with early-onset deafness (LCAEOD), an autosomal dominant condition characterized by early and ... Full text Link to item Cite

Ȧland Island eye disease in two patients harboring novel CACNA1F variants.

Journal article Ophthalmic Genet · October 2025 Ȧland Island eye disease (ȦIED) is a rare X-linked recessive condition caused by mutations in the CACNA1F gene. The ȦIED phenotype involves an overlap of canonical features of ocular albinism and congenital stationary night blindness (CSNB), thereby presen ... Full text Link to item Cite

Peripherin-2 and ROM1 Incorporate Directly Into the Rims of Enclosing Photoreceptor Discs Without Accumulating in the Nascent Disc Lamellae.

Journal article Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci · August 1, 2025 PURPOSE: Oligomeric complexes of peripherin-2 and ROM1 support the rim structure of membrane discs stacked inside the light-sensitive outer segment of vertebrate photoreceptor cells. We investigated the route by which peripherin-2 and ROM1 reach their dest ... Full text Link to item Cite

Addressing Challenges in Developing Treatments for Inherited Retinal Diseases: Recommendations From the Third Monaciano Symposium.

Journal article Transl Vis Sci Technol · August 1, 2025 Over the past decade, efforts focused on developing genetic therapies for inherited retinal diseases have advanced steadily to clinical trials and the development of a treatment, fueling optimism for the potential of precision medicines to provide safe and ... Full text Link to item Cite

Optimized Minimally Invasive Transscleral Subretinal Injection Technique in Mouse.

Journal article J Vis Exp · July 25, 2025 The conventional method of material delivery to the subretinal space in the mouse involves dual perforation of the neural retina, which causes extensive surgical damage. This leads to variability in the subsequent outcome measures of the visual function, s ... Full text Link to item Cite

The accessory inner segment: a novel structure of the human rod photoreceptor

Conference INVESTIGATIVE OPHTHALMOLOGY & VISUAL SCIENCE · June 2025 Link to item Cite

Unique ultrastructural organization of human rod photoreceptors.

Journal article Commun Biol · January 16, 2025 Rod and cone photoreceptor cells are specialized neurons responsible for transforming the information reaching the eyes in the form of photons into the language of neuronal activity. Rods are the most prevalent photoreceptor type, primarily responsible for ... Full text Link to item Cite

A novel large multi-gene deletion in syndromic choroideremia.

Journal article Ophthalmic Genet · October 2024 INTRODUCTION: Caused by mutation or deletion of the CHM gene, choroideremia is a rare X-linked recessive chorioretinal dystrophy characterized by progressive degeneration of the retinal pigment epithelium, photoreceptors, and the choriocapillaris. There ar ... Full text Link to item Cite

Human rod photoreceptor outer segments are supported by accessory inner segment structures.

Journal article bioRxiv · August 10, 2024 The first steps in vision take place in photoreceptor cells, which are highly compartmentalized neurons exhibiting significant structural variation across species. The light-sensitive ciliary compartment, called the outer segment, is located atop of the ce ... Full text Link to item Cite

Mystery of changing choroidal thickness.

Journal article Retina · December 1, 2022 Full text Link to item Cite

Multifocal serous retinopathy with pemigatinib therapy for metastatic colon adenocarcinoma.

Journal article Int J Retina Vitreous · April 23, 2021 BACKGROUND: Pemigatinib is an inhibitor of the fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR), recently approved for the treatment of cholangiocarcinoma. FGFR retinopathy is a newly recognized entity, with only two other FGFR inhibitors reported to cause serous ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

HSV-1 Hijacks the Host DNA Damage Response in Corneal Epithelial Cells through ICP4-Mediated Activation of ATM.

Journal article Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci · June 3, 2020 PURPOSE: Herpes simplex virus type I (HSV-1) infection of corneal epithelial cells activates ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM), an apical kinase in the host DNA damage response pathway, whose activity is necessary for the progression of lytic HSV-1 infec ... Full text Link to item Cite

Activation of checkpoint kinase 2 is critical for herpes simplex virus type 1 replication in corneal epithelium.

Journal article Ophthalmic Res · 2015 BACKGROUND/AIMS: Herpes simplex virus (HSV) type I keratitis remains a leading cause of corneal morbidity, despite the availability of effective antiviral drugs. Improved understanding of virus-host interactions at the level of the host DNA damage response ... Full text Link to item Cite

Iron increases APP translation and amyloid-beta production in the retina.

Journal article Exp Eye Res · December 2014 Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the most common cause of blindness among older adults in developed countries, and retinal iron accumulation may exacerbate the disease. Iron can upregulate the production of amyloid precursor protein (APP). Since a ... Full text Link to item Cite

Iron upregulates melanogenesis in cultured retinal pigment epithelial cells.

Journal article Exp Eye Res · November 2014 The purpose of our studies was to examine the relationship between iron and melanogenesis in retinal pigment epithelial cells, as prior observations had suggested that iron may promote melanogenesis. This relationship has potential clinical importance, as ... Full text Link to item Cite

O-GlcNAc modification of transcription factor Sp1 mediates hyperglycemia-induced VEGF-A upregulation in retinal cells.

Journal article Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci · October 28, 2014 PURPOSE: Proangiogenic protein VEGF-A contributes significantly to retinal lesions and neovascularization in diabetic retinopathy (DR). In preclinical DR, hyperglycemia can upregulate VEGF-A in retinal cells. The VEGF-A promoter is responsive to the transc ... Full text Link to item Cite

Nonthermal Dielectric Barrier Discharge (DBD) Plasma Suppresses Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 (HSV-1) Replication in Corneal Epithelium.

Journal article Transl Vis Sci Technol · March 2014 PURPOSE: Herpes keratitis (HK) is the leading cause of cornea-derived and infection-associated blindness in the developed world. Despite the availability of effective antivirals, some patients develop refractory disease, drug-resistant infection, and topic ... Full text Link to item Cite

Inhibition of ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM) kinase suppresses herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) keratitis.

Journal article Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci · February 3, 2014 PURPOSE: Herpes keratitis (HK) remains the leading cause of cornea-derived blindness in the developed world, despite the availability of effective antiviral drugs. Treatment toxicity and the emergence of drug resistance highlight the need for additional th ... Full text Link to item Cite

Ex vivo organotypic corneal model of acute epithelial herpes simplex virus type I infection.

Journal article J Vis Exp · November 3, 2012 Herpes keratitis is one of the most severe pathologies associated with the herpes simplex virus-type 1 (HSV-1). Herpes keratitis is currently the leading cause of both cornea-derived and infection-associated blindness in the developed world. Typical presen ... Full text Link to item Cite

Effects of non-thermal plasma on mammalian cells.

Journal article PLoS One · January 21, 2011 Thermal plasmas and lasers have been widely used in medicine to cut, ablate and cauterize tissues through heating; in contrast, non-thermal plasma produces no heat, so its effects can be selective. In order to exploit the potential for clinical application ... Full text Link to item Cite

Analysis of gene expression profiles in HeLa cells in response to overexpression or siRNA-mediated depletion of NASP.

Journal article Reprod Biol Endocrinol · May 13, 2009 BACKGROUND: NASP (Nuclear Autoantigenic Sperm Protein) is a linker histone chaperone required for normal cell division. Changes in NASP expression significantly affect cell growth and development; loss of gene function results in embryonic lethality. Howev ... Full text Link to item Cite

Characterization of the NASP promoter in 3T3 fibroblasts and mouse spermatogenic cells.

Journal article Gene · April 12, 2006 NASP (nuclear autoantigenic sperm protein) is a histone H1 binding protein expressed in all cells undergoing division. We have previously reported the sequence for the mouse NASP gene and analyzed its proximal promoter region in silico to determine putativ ... Full text Link to item Cite