Dendritic morphology of alpha ganglion cells in the rat retina

1989 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. 174
Author(s):  
Masaki Tauchi ◽  
Yutaka Fukuda ◽  
Katsuko Morigiwa ◽  
Kwok-Fai So
Keyword(s):  
Ganglion Cells ◽  
Dendritic Morphology ◽  
Rat Retina

Vasoactive intestinal polypeptide modulates GABAA receptor function in bipolar cells and ganglion cells of the rat retina

1992 ◽  
Vol 67 (4) ◽  
pp. 791-797 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. L. Veruki ◽  
H. H. Yeh
Keyword(s):  
Gabaa Receptor ◽  
Vasoactive Intestinal Polypeptide ◽  
Ganglion Cells ◽  
Bipolar Cells ◽  
Current Response ◽  
Gamma Aminobutyric Acid ◽  
Patch Clamp Recording ◽  
Rat Retina ◽  
Neuronal Populations ◽  
Intestinal Polypeptide

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.

The morphology and topographic distribution of AII amacrine cells in the cat retina

1985 ◽  
Vol 224 (1237) ◽  
pp. 475-488 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Ganglion Cells ◽  
Lucifer Yellow ◽  
Central Area ◽  
Plexiform Layer ◽  
Amacrine Cells ◽  
Dendritic Morphology ◽  
Inner Plexiform Layer ◽  
Cat Retina ◽  
Superior Margin ◽  
Aii Amacrine Cells

When cat retina is incubated in vitro with the fluorescent dye, 4',6- diamidino-2-phenyl-indole (DAPI), a uniform population of neurons is brightly labelled at the inner border of the inner nuclear layer. The dendritic morphology of the DAPI-labelled cells was defined by iontophoretic injection of Lucifer yellow under direct microscopic control: all the filled cells had the narrow-field bistratified morphology that is distinctive of the A ll amacrine cells previously described from Golgistained retinae. Although the A ll amacrines are principal interneurons in the rod-signal pathway, their density distribution does not follow the topography of the rod receptors, but peaks in the central area like the cone receptors and the ganglion cells. There are some 512000 A ll amacrines in the cat retina and their density ranges from 500 cells per square millimetre at the superior margin to 5300 cells per square millimetre in the centre (retinal area is 450 mm2). The isodensity contours are kite-shaped, particularly at intermediate densities, with a horizontal elongation towards nasal retina. The cell body size and the dendritic dimensions of A ll amacrines increase with decreasing cell density. The lobular dendrites in sublamina a of the inner plexiform layer span a restricted field of 16—45 pm diameter, while the arboreal dendrites in sublamina b form a varicose tree of 18—95 pm diameter. The dendritic field coverage of the lobular appendages is close to 1.0 (+ 0.2) at all eccentricities whereas the coverage of the arboreal dendrites doubles within the first 1.5 mm and then remains constant at 3.8 ( + 0.7) throughout the periphery.

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

1980 ◽  
Vol 208 (1173) ◽  
pp. 433-446 ◽  
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.

Expression of CB2 cannabinoid receptor mRNA in adult rat retina

2000 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-95 ◽  
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.

Neural architecture of the “transient” ON directionally selective (class IIb1) ganglion cells in rabbit retina, partly co-stratified with starburst amacrine cells

2016 ◽  
Vol 33 ◽  
Author(s):  
EDWARD V. FAMIGLIETTI
Keyword(s):  
T Cells ◽  
Ganglion Cell ◽  
Ganglion Cells ◽  
Amacrine Cells ◽  
Dendritic Morphology ◽  
Inner Plexiform Layer ◽  
Rabbit Retina ◽  
Branching Pattern ◽  
Stimulus Velocity ◽  
Starburst Amacrine Cells

AbstractRecent physiological studies coupled with intracellular staining have subdivided ON directionally selective (DS) ganglion cells of rabbit retina into two types. One exhibits more “transient” and more “brisk” responses (ON DS-t), and the other has more “sustained’ and more “sluggish” responses (ON DS-s), although both represent the same three preferred directions and show preference for low stimulus velocity, as reported in previous studies of ON DS ganglion cells in rabbit retina. ON DS-s cells have the morphology of ganglion cells previously shown to project to the medial terminal nucleus (MTN) of the accessory optic system, and the MTN-projecting, class IVus1 cells have been well-characterized previously in terms of their dendritic morphology, branching pattern, and stratification. ON DS-t ganglion cells have a distinctly different morphology and exhibit heterotypic coupling to amacrine cells, including axon-bearing amacrine cells, with accompanying synchronous firing, while ON DS-s cells are not coupled. The present study shows that ON DS-t cells are morphologically identical to the previously well-characterized, “orphan” class IIb1 ganglion cell, previously regarded as a member of the “brisk-concentric” category of ganglion cells. Its branching pattern, quantitatively analyzed, is similar to that of the morphological counterparts of X and Y cells, and very different from that of the ON DS-s ganglion cell. Close analysis of the dendritic stratification of class IIb1 ganglion cells together with fiducial cells indicates that they differ from that of the ON DS-s cells. In agreement with one of the three previous studies, class IIb1/ON DS-t cells, unlike class IVus1/ON DS-s ganglion cells, in the main do not co-stratify with starburst amacrine cells. As the present study shows, however, portions of their dendrites do deviate from the main substratum, coming within range of starburst boutons. Parsimony favors DS input from starburst amacrine cells both to ON DS-s and to ON DS-t ganglion cells, given the similarity of their DS responses, but further studies will be required to substantiate the origin of the DS responses of ON DS-t cells. Previously reported OFF DS responses in ON DS-t cells, unmasked by pharmacological agents, and mediated by gap junctions with amacrine cells, suggests an unusual trans-sublaminar organization of directional selectivity in the inner plexiform layer, connecting sublamina a and sublamina b.

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