The photoreceptor cytoskeleton visualized

Author(s):  
Beth Burnside

The vertebrate photoreceptor provides a drammatic example of cell polarization. Specialized to carry out phototransduction at its distal end and to synapse with retinal interneurons at its proximal end, this long slender cell has a uniquely polarized morphology which is reflected in a similarly polarized cytoskeleton. Membranes bearing photopigment are localized in the outer segment, a modified sensory cilium. Sodium pumps which maintain the dark current critical to photosensory transduction are anchored along the inner segment plasma membrane between the outer segment and the nucleus.Proximal to the nucleus is a slender axon terminating in specialized invaginating synapses with other neurons of the retina. Though photoreceptor diameter is only 3-8u, its length from the tip of the outer segment to the synapse may be as great as 200μ. This peculiar linear cell morphology poses special logistical problems and has evoked interesting solutions for numerous cell functions. For example, the outer segment membranes turn over by means of a unique mechanism in which new disks are continuously added at the proximal base of the outer segment, while effete disks are discarded at the tip and phagocytosed by the retinal pigment epithelium. Outer segment proteins are synthesized in the Golgi near the nucleus and must be transported north through the inner segment to their sites of assembly into the outer segment, while synaptic proteins must be transported south through the axon to the synapse.The role of the cytoskeleton in photoreceptor motile processes is being intensely investigated in several laboratories.

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Cynthia Tang ◽  
Jimin Han ◽  
Sonal Dalvi ◽  
Kannan Manian ◽  
Lauren Winschel ◽  
...  

AbstractMutations in CLN3 lead to photoreceptor cell loss in CLN3 disease, a lysosomal storage disorder characterized by childhood-onset vision loss, neurological impairment, and premature death. However, how CLN3 mutations cause photoreceptor cell death is not known. Here, we show that CLN3 is required for phagocytosis of photoreceptor outer segment (POS) by retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells, a cellular process essential for photoreceptor survival. Specifically, a proportion of CLN3 in human, mouse, and iPSC-RPE cells localized to RPE microvilli, the site of POS phagocytosis. Furthermore, patient-derived CLN3 disease iPSC-RPE cells showed decreased RPE microvilli density and reduced POS binding and ingestion. Notably, POS phagocytosis defect in CLN3 disease iPSC-RPE cells could be rescued by wild-type CLN3 gene supplementation. Altogether, these results illustrate a novel role of CLN3 in regulating POS phagocytosis and suggest a contribution of primary RPE dysfunction for photoreceptor cell loss in CLN3 disease that can be targeted by gene therapy.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 105
Author(s):  
Stefano Da Pozzo ◽  
Pierluigi Iacono ◽  
Alessandro Arrigo ◽  
Maurizio Battaglia Parodi

Central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC) is a controversial disease both in terms of clinical classification and choice of therapeutic strategy. Choroidal layers, retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), photoreceptors, and retina are involved to varying degrees. Beyond well-known symptoms raising the clinical suspect of CSC and slit-lamp fundus examination, multimodal imaging plays a key role in assessing the extent of chorioretinal structural involvement. Subretinal fluid (SRF) originating from the choroid leaks through one or multiple RPE defects and spreads into the subretinal space. Spontaneous fluid reabsorption is quite common, but in some eyes, resolution can be obtained only after treatment. Multiple therapeutic strategies are available, and extensive research identified the most effective procedures. Imaging has carved a significant role in guiding the choice of the most appropriate strategy for each single CSC eye. Multiple biomarkers have been identified, and all of them represent a diagnostic and prognostic reference point. This review aims to provide an updated and comprehensive analysis of the current scientific knowledge about the role of imaging in planning the treatment in eyes affected by CSC.


2011 ◽  
Vol 52 (13) ◽  
pp. 9478 ◽  
Author(s):  
Knatokie M. Ford ◽  
Magali Saint-Geniez ◽  
Tony Walshe ◽  
Alisar Zahr ◽  
Patricia A. D'Amore

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 108-112
Author(s):  
Zi-Jing Li ◽  
◽  
Jian-Hui Xiao ◽  
Peng Zeng ◽  
Xiang Gao ◽  
...  

AIM: To comprehensively investigate the relationship between outer retinal layer thickness and age in normal eyes. METHODS: One hundred normal eyes of 100 subjects who underwent spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) were included in this retrospective study. The distances between the external limiting membrane (ELM) line and the photoreceptor inner segment/outer segment (IS/OS) line (ELM-IS/OS), the IS/OS line and the cone outer segment tips (COST) line (IS/OS-COST), the COST line and the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) complex (COST-RPE) and the full retinal thickness (RT) were measured at the fovea and on four quarters. The relationship between thickness and age or sex was then analysed. CONCLUSION: In normal eyes, the RT thickness on the nasal quarter and the ELM-IS/OS thickness were significantly and negatively correlated with age. The IS/OS-COST and COST-RPE thicknesses were not significantly correlated with age or sex.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (11) ◽  
pp. 3830 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan Levitsky ◽  
Sandra S. Hammer ◽  
Kiera P. Fisher ◽  
Chao Huang ◽  
Travan L. Gentles ◽  
...  

Mitochondrial damage in the cells comprising inner (retinal endothelial cells) and outer (retinal pigment epithelium (RPE)) blood–retinal barriers (BRB) is known to precede the initial BRB breakdown and further histopathological abnormalities in diabetic retinopathy (DR). We previously demonstrated that activation of acid sphingomyelinase (ASM) is an important early event in the pathogenesis of DR, and recent studies have demonstrated that there is an intricate connection between ceramide and mitochondrial function. This study aimed to determine the role of ASM-dependent mitochondrial ceramide accumulation in diabetes-induced RPE cell damage. Mitochondria isolated from streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rat retinas (7 weeks duration) showed a 1.64 ± 0.29-fold increase in the ceramide-to-sphingomyelin ratio compared to controls. Conversely, the ceramide-to-sphingomyelin ratio was decreased in the mitochondria isolated from ASM-knockout mouse retinas compared to wild-type littermates, confirming the role of ASM in mitochondrial ceramide production. Cellular ceramide was elevated 2.67 ± 1.07-fold in RPE cells derived from diabetic donors compared to control donors, and these changes correlated with increased gene expression of IL-1β, IL-6, and ASM. Treatment of RPE cells derived from control donors with high glucose resulted in elevated ASM, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1) mRNA. RPE from diabetic donors showed fragmented mitochondria and a 2.68 ± 0.66-fold decreased respiratory control ratio (RCR). Treatment of immortalized cell in vision research (ARPE-19) cells with high glucose resulted in a 25% ± 1.6% decrease in citrate synthase activity at 72 h. Inhibition of ASM with desipramine (15 μM, 1 h daily) abolished the decreases in metabolic functional parameters. Our results are consistent with diabetes-induced increase in mitochondrial ceramide through an ASM-dependent pathway leading to impaired mitochondrial function in the RPE cells of the retina.


Physiology ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 8-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian M. Kevany ◽  
Krzysztof Palczewski

Photoreceptor cells maintain a roughly constant length by continuously generating new outer segments from their base while simultaneously releasing mature outer segments engulfed by the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE). Thus postmitotic RPE cells phagocytose an immense amount of material over a lifetime, disposing of photoreceptor cell waste while retaining useful content. This review focuses on current knowledge of outer segment phagocytosis, discussing the steps involved along with their critical participants as well as how various perturbations in outer segment (OS) disposal can lead to retinopathies.


2006 ◽  
Vol 281 (7) ◽  
pp. 4222-4230 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mingjiang Sun ◽  
Silvia C. Finnemann ◽  
Maria Febbraio ◽  
Lian Shan ◽  
Suresh P. Annangudi ◽  
...  

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