Glaucoma, progressive deterioration of the optic nerve, is the second leading cause of blindness in the world and affects 1 out of every 100 people over the age of 40. In collaboration with Dr. Terete Borras (Department of Ophthalmology, Duke University Medical Center) we are studying the role of olfactomedin-related proteins in the pathogenesis of glaucoma. Olfactomedin was originally identified as the major mucus component of the olfactory neuroepithelium. We have shown that olfactomedin-related proteins occur ubiquitously and have conserved C-terminal domains. For example, the trabecular meshwork inducible glucocorticoid response protein (TIGR), which is expressed in the eye and associated with the pathogenesis of glaucoma, contains an olfactomedin homology domain. Olfactomedin-related proteins appear to be members of a diverse family of tissue-specific extracellular matrix components. The link between the TIGR protein and glaucoma suggests that other members of this family of proteins may in future studies become implicated in a variety of human diseases.