Morphological and distributional properties of SMI‐32 immunoreactive ganglion cells in the rat retina

1. The effect of vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) on bipolar cells and ganglion cells freshly dissociated from the rat retina was studied under voltage clamp with the use of patch-clamp recording in the whole-cell configuration. 2. Application of VIP (1-100 microM) by itself resulted in no detectable current response in either bipolar cells or ganglion cells. However, gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-activated macroscopic current responses elicited in both neuronal populations were potentiated on superimposed exposure to the neuropeptide. 3. GABA-activated chloride currents and muscimol-induced current responses were similarly potentiated on exposure to VIP, suggesting a synergistic interaction between VIP and GABAA receptor mechanisms. 4. We postulate that VIP plays a neuromodulatory role by regulating the excitability of inner retinal neurons and in this way modulates the efficacy of synaptic transmission in the retina.

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Morphology of cells in the ganglion cell layer during development of the rat retina

Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B Biological Sciences ◽

10.1098/rspb.1980.0061 ◽

1980 ◽

Vol 208 (1173) ◽

pp. 433-446 ◽

Cited By ~ 25

Keyword(s):

Ganglion Cell ◽

Time Course ◽

Ganglion Cell Layer ◽

Ganglion Cells ◽

Cell Layer ◽

Type I ◽

Adult Size ◽

Rat Retina ◽

Adult Rat ◽

Dendritic Fields

The development of the cells in the ganglion cell layer in the rat retina has been studied from 3 to 30 days of age postnatal by means of Golgi-stained whole-mounted retinae. The retina grows rapidly from birth to ten days of age and then more slowly from 10 to 30 days of age. The different classes of ganglion cell can be clearly recognized by 10 days of age, but type I ganglion cells with a size comparable to those found in the adult rat retina are not seen until thirty days of age. Type II cells may attain their adult size before type I cells do. The growth of the retina and the resulting decrease in cell density in the ganglion cell layer occur with the same time course as the increase in the size of the cell soma and their dendritic fields.

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Glutamate Inhibits the Pro-Survival Effects of Insulin-Like Growth Factor-1 on Retinal Ganglion Cells in Hypoxic Neonatal Rat Retina

Molecular Neurobiology ◽

10.1007/s12035-016-9905-3 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 54 (5) ◽

pp. 3453-3464 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Gurugirijha Rathnasamy ◽

Wallace S. Foulds ◽

Eng Ang Ling ◽

Charanjit Kaur

Keyword(s):

Growth Factor ◽

Retinal Ganglion Cells ◽

Ganglion Cells ◽

Neonatal Rat ◽

Insulin Like Growth Factor ◽

Retinal Ganglion ◽

Rat Retina

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Expression of CB2 cannabinoid receptor mRNA in adult rat retina

Visual Neuroscience ◽

10.1017/s0952523800171093 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 17 (1) ◽

pp. 91-95 ◽

Cited By ~ 82

Author(s):

QINGJUN LU ◽

ALEX STRAIKER ◽

QINGXIAN LU ◽

GREG MAGUIRE

Keyword(s):

Retinal Ganglion Cells ◽

Cannabinoid Receptors ◽

Cannabinoid Receptor ◽

Ganglion Cells ◽

Mouse Tissue ◽

Retinal Ganglion ◽

Rt Pcr ◽

Rat Retina ◽

Adult Rat ◽

Receptor Mrna

To date, two cannabinoid receptors, CB1 and CB2, have been cloned. The CB1 receptor has been found in a variety of tissues, particularly in the brain. CB2 receptor mRNA is mainly expressed in the immune system, though one group has found it in mouse cerebellum. Previous immunostaining studies in our lab demonstrated the presence of CB1 receptors in the retina though little evidence exists for the presence of CB2. The putative endogenous ligand for CB2 has been found in retina, however, suggesting that further study of CB2 in retina is warranted. Because glutamate is toxic to retinal ganglion cells in glaucoma and activation of CB2 receptors may be able to protect neurons from glutamate-induced death, we examined the expression of CB2 mRNA in adult rat retina in order to better understand possible neuroprotective mechanisms relevant to glaucoma. Using in situ hybridization, we demonstrated that CB2 cannabinoid receptor messenger RNA was clearly expressed in the adult rat retina, including the somas of retinal ganglion cells. Antisense cRNA probe detected strong signals in the retinal ganglion cell layer, the inner nuclear layer, and the inner segments of photoreceptor cells. Using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) in both rat and mouse tissue, we obtained an RT-PCR product with the same sequence as that reported for CB2 in the GenBank database, thus confirming the presence of CB2 mRNA in retina. The presence of CB2 in retina provides new evidence for the presence of CB2 in the central nervous system (CNS) and an excellent model for its study.

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Effect of a Blocker of Nicotine Acetylcholine Receptors on Excitatory Postsynaptic Currents in Ganglion Cells of the Rat Retina

Neurophysiology ◽

10.1007/s11062-015-9482-5 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 46 (6) ◽

pp. 516-520 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

N. Ya. Martynyuk ◽

E. E. Purnyn’ ◽

S. A. Fedulova

Keyword(s):

Acetylcholine Receptors ◽

Ganglion Cells ◽

Excitatory Postsynaptic Currents ◽

Rat Retina ◽

Postsynaptic Currents

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Expression profiling of GABAA receptor β-subunits in the rat retina

Visual Neuroscience ◽

10.1017/s0952523800001723 ◽

1994 ◽

Vol 11 (2) ◽

pp. 379-387 ◽

Cited By ~ 39

Author(s):

Elena V. Grigorenko ◽

Hermes H. Yeh

Keyword(s):

Ganglion Cells ◽

Photoreceptor Cells ◽

Cell Types ◽

Bipolar Cells ◽

Retinal Cell ◽

Rod Photoreceptor ◽

Β Subunit ◽

Rt Pcr ◽

Retinal Neuron ◽

Rat Retina

AbstractThis study profiled the expression of the family of GABAA receptor β-subunits in the adult rat retina. Using a combination of reverse transcriptase reaction followed by polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) with gene-specific primers, the expression of mRNAs encoding the β1, β2, and β3 subunits was first examined in the intact retina and then in separated retinal nuclear layers. However, it was found that a critical analysis. had to be carried out at the level of the single cell in order to resolve the differential patterns of expression among the retinal cell types. When cells were isolated and identified following acute dissociation, RT-PCR revealed that individual rod photoreceptor cells expressed consistently the β1 and β2 messages while the bipolar cells expressed the β1 and β3 messages. Ganglion cells displayed considerable variability in β-subunit expression, perhaps reflecting their functional and morphological heterogeneity in the retina. In contrast, the nonneuronal Mueller cells did not express any of the β-subunit messages. These results indicate that the expression of GABAA receptor subunits is cell-type dependent. Furthermore, as the expression of other families of GABAA receptor subunits are profiled and the patterns of subunit assembly are better understood, our results raise the possibility that GABAA receptors with different subunit compositions can be expected to be coexpressed within a single retinal neuron.

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Light Signaling in Scotopic Conditions in the Rabbit, Mouse and Rat Retina: A Physiological and Anatomical Study

Journal of Neurophysiology ◽

10.1152/jn.00839.2004 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 93 (6) ◽

pp. 3479-3488 ◽

Cited By ~ 37

Author(s):

Dario A. Protti ◽

Nicolas Flores-Herr ◽

Wei Li ◽

Stephen C. Massey ◽

Heinz Wässle

Keyword(s):

Ganglion Cells ◽

Electrical Coupling ◽

Anatomical Study ◽

Amacrine Cells ◽

Light Signal ◽

Mouse Retina ◽

Dark Light ◽

Scotopic Vision ◽

Rat Retina ◽

Alternative Pathways

In the dark, light signals are conventionally routed through the following circuit: rods synapse onto rod bipolar (RB) cells, which in turn contact AII amacrine cells. AII cells segregate the light signal into the on and off pathways by making electrical synapses with on cone bipolar (CB) cells and glycinergic inhibitory chemical synapses with off CB cells. These bipolar cells synapse onto their respective ganglion cells, which transfer on and off signals to the visual centers of the brain. Two alternative pathways have recently been postulated for the signal transfer in scotopic conditions: 1) electrical coupling between rods and cones, and 2) a circuit independent of cone photoreceptors, implying direct contacts between rods and off CB cells. Anatomical evidence supports the existence of both these circuits. To investigate the contribution of these alternative pathways to scotopic vision in the mammalian retina, we have performed patch-clamp recordings from ganglion cells in the dark-adapted retina of the rabbit, mouse, and rat. Approximately one-half of the ganglion cells in the rabbit retina received off signals through a circuit that was independent of RB cells. This was shown by their persistence in the presence of the glutamate agonist 2-amino-4-phosphonobutyric acid (APB), which blocks rod→RB cell signaling. Consistent with this result, strychnine, a glycine receptor antagonist, was unable to abolish these off responses. In addition, we were able to show that some off cone bipolar dendrites terminate at rod spherules and make potential contacts. In the mouse retina, however, there seems to be a very low proportion of off signals carried by an APB-resistant pathway. No ganglion cells in the rat retina displayed APB- and strychnine-resistant responses. Our data support signaling through flat contacts between rods and off CB cells as the alternative route, but suggest that the significance of this pathway differs between species.

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