scholarly journals The occurrence of actinlike filaments in association with migrating pigment granules in frog retinal pigment epithelium

1975 ◽  
Vol 64 (3) ◽  
pp. 705-710 ◽  
Author(s):  
RL Murray ◽  
MW Dubin
Keyword(s):  
Pigment Epithelium ◽  
Retinal Pigment ◽  
Action Spectrum ◽  
Pigment Granule ◽  
Melanin Pigment ◽  
Photoreceptor Outer Segments ◽  
Outer Segments ◽  
Pigment Granules ◽  
Continuous Sheet ◽  
Granule Motion

In the retina of the frog and certain other animals, melanin pigment granules move in response to light so as to shield photoreceptor outer segments. The granules are contained within the cells of the pigment epithelium (PE) which lie as a continuous sheet between the neural retina and the choroid. Moderate illumination of the eye causes the melanin granules to move from a region within a PE cell body into numerous fingerlike extensions of the cell which interdigitate with the receptor outer segments. This migration takes many minutes and is reversed when the light falling on the eye increases in intensity. Several reviews are concerned with the early descriptions of this phenomenon (6,30) and with more recent experiments (1,5,19). The mechanism of the pigment granule motion is undetermined although there are studies concerning PE ultrastructure (8, 23, 31), scanning electron microscopy of the fingerlike extensions of the PE cells (27), the role of the PE in photoreceptor phagocytosis (32), the nature of the pigment granules (19), and the action spectrum of the light which induces the migration (16). This study reports the presence of a system of microfilaments associated with the pigment granules in the fingerlike extensions processes of the PE cells. We demonstrate by heavy meromyosin (HMM) labeling that the filaments are actinlike in character and suggest that these filaments could be responsible for the migration of the melanin pigment granules.

scholarly journals THE CIRCADIAN CLOCK IN THE RETINAL PIGMENT EPITHELIUM CONTROLS THE DIURNAL RHYTHM OF PHAGOCYTIC ACTIVITY

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher DeVera ◽  
Jendayi Dixon ◽  
Micah A. Chrenek ◽  
Kenkichi Baba ◽  
P. Michael Iuvone ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Retinal Pigment Epithelium ◽  
Circadian Clock ◽  
Phagocytic Activity ◽  
Pigment Epithelium ◽  
Retinal Pigment ◽  
Optomotor Response ◽  
Rpe Cells ◽  
Photoreceptor Outer Segments ◽  
Outer Segments ◽  
Old Mice

AbstractThe diurnal peak of phagocytosis by the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) of photoreceptor outer segments (POS) is under circadian control, and it is believed that this process involves interactions from both the retina and RPE. Previous studies have demonstrated that a functional circadian clock exists within multiple retinal cell types and RPE cells. Thereby, the aim of the current study was to determine whether the circadian clock in the retina and or RPE controls the diurnal phagocytic peak of photoreceptor outer segments and whether selective disruption of the circadian clock in the RPE would affect RPE cells function and the viability during aging. To that aim, we first generated and validated an RPE tissue-specific KO of the essential clock gene, Bmal1, and then we determined the daily rhythm in phagocytic activity by the RPE in mice lacking a functional circadian clock in the retina or RPE. Then using electroretinography, spectral domain-optical coherence tomography, and optomotor response measurements of visual function we determined the effect of Bmal1 removal in young (6-month old) and old (18-month old) mice. RPE morphology and lipofuscin accumulation was also determined in young and old mice. Our data show that the circadian clock in the RPE controls the daily diurnal phagocytic peak of POS. Surprisingly, the lack of a functional RPE circadian clock or the diurnal phagocytic peak does not result in any detectable age-related degenerative phenotype in the retina or RPE. Thus, our results demonstrate that the loss of the circadian clock in the RPE or the lack of the daily peak in phagocytosis of POS does not result in deterioration of photoreceptors or the RPE during aging.

scholarly journals A Human Retinal Pigment Epithelium-Based Screening Platform Reveals Inducers of Photoreceptor Outer Segments Phagocytosis

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (6) ◽  
pp. 1347-1361
Author(s):  
Sven Schreiter ◽  
Katerina Vafia ◽  
Rico Barsacchi ◽  
Stephen H. Tsang ◽  
Marc Bickle ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Retinal Pigment Epithelium ◽  
Pigment Epithelium ◽  
Retinal Pigment ◽  
Photoreceptor Outer Segments ◽  
Human Retinal Pigment Epithelium ◽  
Outer Segments ◽  
Screening Platform

Calcium-independent regulation of pigment granule aggregation and dispersion in teleost retinal pigment epithelial cells

1996 ◽  
Vol 109 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-43
Author(s):  
C. King-Smith ◽  
P. Chen ◽  
D. Garcia ◽  
H. Rey ◽  
B. Burnside
Keyword(s):  
Intracellular Calcium ◽  
Pigment Epithelium ◽  
Retinal Pigment ◽  
Pigment Granule ◽  
Retinal Pigment Epithelial Cells ◽  
Rod Photoreceptor ◽  
Rpe Cells ◽  
Pigment Granules ◽  
Pigment Granule Migration

In the eyes of teleosts and amphibians, melanin pigment granules of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) migrate in response to changes in light conditions. In the light, pigment granules disperse into the cells' long apical projections, thereby shielding the rod photoreceptor outer segments and reducing their extent of bleach. In darkness, pigment granules aggregate towards the base of the RPE cells. In vitro, RPE pigment granule aggregation can be induced by application of nonderivatized cAMP, and pigment granule dispersion can be induced by cAMP washout. In previous studies based on RPE-retina co-cultures, extracellular calcium was found to influence pigment granule migration. To examine the role of calcium in regulation of RPE pigment granule migration in the absence of retinal influences, we have used isolated RPE sheets and dissociated, cultured RPE cells. Under these conditions depletion of extracellular or intracellular calcium ([Ca2+]o, [Ca2+]i) had no effect on RPE pigment granule aggregation or dispersion. Using the intracellular calcium dye fura-2 and a new dye, fura-pe3, to monitor calcium dynamics in isolated RPE cells, we found that [Ca2+]i did not change from basal levels when pigment granule aggregation was triggered by cAMP, or dispersion was triggered by cAMP washout. Also, no change in [Ca2+]i was detected when dispersion was triggered by cAMP washout in the presence of 10 microM dopamine, a treatment previously shown to enhance dispersion. In addition, elevation of [Ca2+]i by addition of ionomycin neither triggered pigment movements, nor interfered with pigment granule motility elicited by cAMP addition or washout. Since other studies have indicated that actin plays a role in both pigment granule dispersion and aggregation in RPE, our findings suggest that RPE pigment granule migration depends on an actin-based motility system that is not directly regulated by calcium.

Tunicamycin-induced degeneration in cone photoreceptors

1988 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 153-158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Don H. Anderson ◽  
David S. Williams ◽  
Jay Neitz ◽  
Robert N. Fariss ◽  
Steven J. Fliesler
Keyword(s):  
Pigment Epithelium ◽  
Retinal Pigment ◽  
Protein Glycosylation ◽  
Morphological Evidence ◽  
Apical Surface ◽  
Cone Photoreceptors ◽  
Photoreceptor Outer Segments ◽  
Outer Segments ◽  
Progressive Degeneration ◽  
Electrophysiological Effects

AbstractTunicamycin (TM), an inhibitor of dolichylphosphate-mediated protein glycosylation, was injected intravitreally into the eyes of diurnal rodents with cone-dominated retinas. Injection of 1 μg of the B2 isomer led to a progressive degeneration of the photoreceptor outer segments and disruption of the RPE-photoreceptor interface that took place over a 10-day period. Cone outer segments were shortened by postinjection day 6 and virtually absent by day 9. The microvilli that normally protrude from the apical surface of the retinal pigment epithelium were replaced by a fringe of shortened processes. The other retinal layers showed no morphological evidence of disruption. Retinal sensitivity, as measured by electroretinographic b-wave threshold, showed a significant and progressive decline over the 10-day course of the experiment that paralleled the disruption of retinal morphology. These results suggest that TM leads to similar morphological and electrophysiological effects on rod and cone photoreceptors.

scholarly journals Phagocytosed photoreceptor outer segments activate mTORC1 in the retinal pigment epithelium

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (532) ◽  
pp. eaag3315 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bo Yu ◽  
Anuoluwapo Egbejimi ◽  
Rachayata Dharmat ◽  
Pei Xu ◽  
Zhenyang Zhao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Retinal Pigment Epithelium ◽  
Pigment Epithelium ◽  
Retinal Pigment ◽  
Photoreceptor Outer Segments ◽  
Outer Segments

CD36 participates in the phagocytosis of rod outer segments by retinal pigment epithelium

1996 ◽  
Vol 109 (2) ◽  
pp. 387-395 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.W. Ryeom ◽  
J.R. Sparrow ◽  
R.L. Silverstein
Keyword(s):  
Retinal Pigment Epithelium ◽  
Outer Segment ◽  
Retinal Pigment Epithelial ◽  
Pigment Epithelium ◽  
Retinal Pigment ◽  
Immunofluorescent Staining ◽  
Rod Outer Segments ◽  
Photoreceptor Outer Segments ◽  
Pigment Epithelial ◽  
Outer Segments

Mechanisms of phagocytosis are complex and incompletely understood. The retinal pigment epithelium provides an ideal system to study the specific aspects of phagocytosis since an important function of this cell is the ingestion of packets of membranous discs that are normally discarded at the apical ends of rod and cone cells during outer segment renewal. Here we provide evidence that rod outer segment phagocytosis by retinal pigment epithelium is mediated by CD36, a transmembrane glycoprotein which has been previously characterized on hematopoietic cells as a receptor for apoptotic neutrophils and oxidized low density lipoprotein. Immunocytochemical staining with monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies demonstrated CD36 expression by both human and rat retinal pigment epithelium in transverse cryostat sections of normal retina and in primary cultured cells. By western blot analysis of retinal pigment epithelial cell lysates, polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies to CD36 recognized an 88 kDa protein which comigrated with platelet CD36. Furthermore, the synthesis of CD36 mRNA by retinal pigment epithelium was confirmed by reverse transcriptase-PCR using specific CD36 oligonucleotides. The addition of CD36 antibodies to cultured retinal pigment epithelial cells reduced the binding and internalization of 125I-labeled rod outer segments by 60%. Immunofluorescence confocal microscopy confirmed that outer segment uptake was significantly diminished by an antibody to CD36. Moreover, we found that transfection of a human melanoma cell line with CD36 cDNA enabled these cells to bind and internalize isolated photoreceptor outer segments as seen by double immunofluorescent staining for surface bound and total cell-associated rod outer segments, and by measurement of cell-associated 125I-labeled rod outer segments. We conclude that the multifunctional scavenger receptor CD36 participates in the clearance of photoreceptor outer segments by retinal pigment epithelium and thus, participates in the visual process.

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