scholarly journals POU6F2 Positive Retinal Ganglion Cells a Novel Group of ON-OFF Directionally Selective Subtypes in the Mouse Retina

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ying Li ◽  
Jiaxing Wang ◽  
Rebecca King ◽  
Eldon E. Geisert

AbstractPurposePreviously we identified POU6F2 as a genetic link between central corneal thickness (CCT) and risk of open-angle glaucoma. The present study is designed to characterize the POU6F2-positive retinal ganglion cells (RGCs).MethodsThe Thy1-YFP-H mouse was used to identify the structure of POU6F2-positive RGCs in the retina. In the retina of the Thy1-YFP-H mouse approximately 3% of the RGCs were labeled with yellow fluorescent protein. These retinas were stained for POU6F2 to identify the morphology of the POU6F2 subtypes in 3D reconstructions of the labeled RGCs. Multiple retinal cell markers were also co-stained with POU6F2 to characterize the molecular signature of the POU6F2-positive RGCs. DBA/2J glaucoma models were used to test the role of POU6F2 in injury.ResultsIn the retina POU6F2 labels 32.9% of the RGCs in the DBA/2J retina (16.1% heavily and 16.8% lightly labeled). In 3D constructions of Thy1-YFP-H positive RGCs, the heavily labeled POU6F2-positive cells had dendrites in the inner plexiform layer that were bistratified and appeared to be ON-OFF directionally selective cells. The lightly labeled POU6F2 RGCs displayed 3 different dendritic distributions, with dendrites in the ON sublaminae only, OFF sublaminae only, or bistratified. The POU6F2-positive cells partially co-stained with Cdh6. The POU6F2-positive cells do not co-stain with CART and SATB2 (markers for ON-OFF directionally selective RGC), SMI32 (a marker for alpha RGCs), or ChAT and GAD67(markers for amacrine cells). The POU6F2-positive cells were sensitive to injury. In DBA/2J glaucoma model, at 8 months of age there was a 22% loss of RGCs (labeled with RBPMS) while there was 73% loss of the heavily labeled POU6F2 RGCs.ConclusionsPOU6F2 is a marker for a novel group of RGC subtypes that are ON-OFF directionally selective RGCs that are sensitive to glaucomatous injury.

2001 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 559-570 ◽  
Author(s):  
B.E. REESE ◽  
M.A. RAVEN ◽  
K.A. GIANNOTTI ◽  
P.T. JOHNSON

The present study has examined the emergence of cholinergic stratification within the developing inner plexiform layer (IPL), and the effect of ablating the cholinergic amacrine cells on the formation of other stratifications within the IPL. The population of cholinergic amacrine cells in the ferret's retina was identified as early as the day of birth, but their processes did not form discrete strata until the end of the first postnatal week. As development proceeded over the next five postnatal weeks, so the positioning of the cholinergic strata shifted within the IPL toward the outer border, indicative of the greater ingrowth and elaboration of processes within the innermost parts of the IPL. To examine whether these cholinergic strata play an instructive role upon the development of other stratifications which form within the IPL, one-week-old ferrets were treated with l-glutamate in an attempt to ablate the population of cholinergic amacrine cells. Such treatment was shown to be successful, eliminating all of the cholinergic amacrine cells as well as the alpha retinal ganglion cells in the central retina. The remaining ganglion cell classes as well as a few other retinal cell types were partially reduced, while other cell types were not affected, and neither retinal histology nor areal growth was compromised in these ferrets. Despite this early loss of the cholinergic amacrine cells, which are eliminated within 24 h, other stratifications within the IPL formed normally, as they do following early elimination of the entire ganglion cell population. While these cholinergic amacrine cells are present well before other cell types have differentiated, apparently neither they, nor the ganglion cells, play a role in determining the depth of stratification for other retinal cell types.


2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashley M. Chen ◽  
Shaghauyegh S. Azar ◽  
Alexander Harris ◽  
Nicholas C. Brecha ◽  
Luis Pérez de Sevilla Müller

Manipulation of the phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) pathway has been suggested as a therapeutic approach to treat or prevent vision loss due to retinal disease. In this study, we investigated the effects of deleting one copy of Pten in a well-characterized class of retinal ganglion cells called α-ganglion cells in the mouse retina. In Pten+/– retinas, α-ganglion cells did not exhibit major changes in their dendritic structure, although most cells developed a few, unusual loop-forming dendrites. By contrast, α-ganglion cells exhibited a significant decrease in heterologous and homologous gap junction mediated cell coupling with other retinal ganglion and amacrine cells. Additionally, the majority of OFF α-ganglion cells (12/18 cells) formed novel coupling to displaced amacrine cells. The number of connexin36 puncta, the predominant connexin that mediates gap junction communication at electrical synapses, was decreased by at least 50% on OFF α-ganglion cells. Reduced and incorrect gap junction connectivity of α-ganglion cells will affect their functional properties and alter visual image processing in the retina. The anomalous connectivity of retinal ganglion cells would potentially limit future therapeutic approaches involving manipulation of the Pten pathway for treating ganglion cell degeneration in diseases like glaucoma, traumatic brain injury, Parkinson’s, and Alzheimer’s diseases.


2001 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  
pp. 741-751 ◽  
Author(s):  
P.T. JOHNSON ◽  
M.A. RAVEN ◽  
B.E. REESE

Photoreceptors in the ferret's retina have been shown to project transiently to the inner plexiform layer (IPL) prior to their differentiation of an outer segment. On postnatal day 15 (P-15), when this projection achieves maximal density, the photoreceptors projecting into the IPL extend primarily to one of two depths, coincident with the processes of cholinergic amacrine cells. The present study has used an excitotoxic approach employing subcutaneous injections of l-glutamate to ablate these cholinergic amacrine cells on P-7, in order to see whether their elimination alters this targeting of photoreceptor terminals within the IPL. The near-complete elimination of cholinergic amacrine cells at P-15 was confirmed, although the population of retinal ganglion cells was also affected, being depleted by roughly 50%. The rod opsin-immunopositive terminals in such treated ferrets no longer showed a stratified distribution, being found throughout the depth of the IPL, as well as extending into the ganglion cell layer. This effect should not be due to the partial loss of retinal ganglion cells, however, since optic nerve transection at P-2, which eliminates the ganglion cells entirely while leaving the cholinergic amacrine cell population intact, was shown not to affect the stratification pattern of the photoreceptors within the IPL. These results strongly suggest that the targeting of the photoreceptor terminals to discrete strata within the IPL is dependent upon the cholinergic amacrine cell processes.


Cells ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 530 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seema Banerjee ◽  
Qin Wang ◽  
Chung Him So ◽  
Feng Pan

Myopia is a major public health problem, affecting one third of the population over 12 years old in the United States and more than 80% of people in Hong Kong. Myopia is attributable to elongation of the eyeball in response to defocused images that alter eye growth and refraction. It is known that the retina can sense the focus of an image, but the effects of defocused images on signaling of population of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) that account either for emmetropization or refractive errors has still to be elucidated. Thorough knowledge of the underlying mechanisms could provide insight to understanding myopia. In this study, we found that focused and defocused images can change both excitatory and inhibitory conductance of ON alpha, OFF alpha and ON–OFF retinal ganglion cells in the mouse retina. The firing patterns of population of RGCs vary under the different powers of defocused images and can be affected by dopamine receptor agonists/antagonists’ application. OFF-delayed RGCs or displaced amacrine cells (dACs) with time latency of more than 0.3 s had synchrony firing with other RGCs and/or dACs. These spatial synchrony firing patterns between OFF-delayed cell and other RGCs/dACs were significantly changed by defocused image, which may relate to edge detection. The results suggested that defocused images induced changes in the multineuronal firing patterns and whole cell conductance in the mouse retina. The multineuronal firing patterns can be affected by dopamine receptors’ agonists and antagonists. Synchronous firing of OFF-delayed cells is possibly related to edge detection, and understanding of this process may reveal a potential therapeutic target for myopia patients.


2010 ◽  
Vol 518 (23) ◽  
pp. 4813-4824 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luis Pérez de Sevilla Müller ◽  
Michael Tri H. Do ◽  
King-Wai Yau ◽  
Shigang He ◽  
William H. Baldridge

PLoS ONE ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (12) ◽  
pp. e0242426
Author(s):  
Yong H. Park ◽  
Joshua D. Snook ◽  
Iris Zhuang ◽  
Guofu Shen ◽  
Benjamin J. Frankfort

Cell culture is widely utilized to study the cellular and molecular biology of different neuronal cell populations. Current techniques to study enriched neurons in vitro are primarily limited to embryonic/neonatal animals and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). Although the use of these cultures is valuable, the accessibility of purified primary adult neuronal cultures would allow for improved assessment of certain neurological diseases and pathways at the cellular level. Using a modified 7-step immunopanning technique to isolate for retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) and amacrine cells (ACs) from adult mouse retinas, we have successfully developed a model of neuronal culture that maintains for at least one week. Isolations of Thy1.2+ cells are enriched for RGCs, with the isolation cell yield being congruent to the theoretical yield of RGCs in a mouse retina. ACs of two different populations (CD15+ and CD57+) can also be isolated. The populations of these three adult neurons in culture are healthy, with neurite outgrowths in some cases greater than 500μm in length. Optimization of culture conditions for RGCs and CD15+ cells revealed that neuronal survival and the likelihood of neurite outgrowth respond inversely to different culture media. Serially diluted concentrations of puromycin decreased cultured adult RGCs in a dose-dependent manner, demonstrating the potential usefulness of these adult neuronal cultures in screening assays. This novel culture system can be used to model in vivo neuronal behaviors. Studies can now be expanded in conjunction with other methodologies to study the neurobiology of function, aging, and diseases.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yong H Park ◽  
Joshua D Snook ◽  
Iris Zhuang ◽  
Guofu Shen ◽  
Benjamin J Frankfort

AbstractCell culture is widely utilized to study the cellular and molecular biology of different neuronal cell populations. Current techniques to study enriched neurons in vitro are primarily limited to embryonic/neonatal animals and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC). Although the use of these cultures is valuable, the accessibility of purified primary adult neuronal cultures would allow for improved assessment of certain neurological diseases and pathways at the cellular level. Using a modified 7-step immunopanning technique to isolate for retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) and amacrine cells (ACs) from adult mouse retinas, we have successfully developed a model of neuronal culture that maintains for at least one week. Isolations of Thy1.2+ cells are enriched for RGCs, with the isolation cell yield being congruent to the theoretical yield of RGCs in a mouse retina. ACs of two different populations (CD15+ and CD57+) can also be isolated. The populations of these three adult neurons in culture are healthy, with neurite outgrowths in some cases greater than 500µm in length. Optimization of culture conditions for RGCs and CD15+ cells revealed that neuronal survival and the likelihood of neurite outgrowth respond inversely to different culture media. Serially diluted concentrations of puromycin decreased cultured adult RGCs in a dose-dependent manner, demonstrating the potential usefulness of these adult neuronal cultures in screening assays. This novel culture system can be used to model adult neurons in vivo. Studies can now be expanded in conjunction with other methodologies to study the neurobiology of function, aging, and diseases.


2008 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 95-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
HANAKO OI ◽  
GLORIA J. PARTIDA ◽  
SHERWIN C. LEE ◽  
ANDREW T. ISHIDA

Antisera directed against hyperpolarization-activated, cyclic nucleotide–sensitive (HCN) channels bind to somata in the ganglion cell layer of rat and rabbit retinas, and mRNA for different HCN channel isoforms has been detected in the ganglion cell layer of mouse retina. However, previous studies neither provided evidence that any of the somata are ganglion cells (as opposed to displaced amacrine cells) nor quantified these cells. We therefore tested whether isoform-specific anti-HCN channel antisera bind to ganglion cells labeled by retrograde transport of fluorophore-coupled dextran. In flat-mounted adult rat retinas, the number of dextran-backfilled ganglion cells agreed with cell densities reported in previous studies, and anti-HCN4 antisera bound to the somata of approximately 40% of these cells. The diameter of these somata ranged from 7 to 30 μm. Consistent with localization to cell membranes, the immunoreactivity formed a thin line that circumscribed individual somata. Optic fiber layer axon fascicles, and the proximal dendrites of some ganglion cells, also displayed binding of anti-HCN4 antisera. These results suggest that the response of some mammalian retinal ganglion cells to hyperpolarization may be modulated by changes in intracellular cAMP levels, and could thus be more complex than expected from previous voltage and current recordings.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shahad Albadri ◽  
Olivier Armant ◽  
Tairi Aljand-Geschwill ◽  
Filippo Del Bene ◽  
Matthias Carl ◽  
...  

AbstractPromoting the regeneration or survival of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) is one focus of regenerative medicine. Homeobox Barhl transcription factors might be instrumental in these processes. In mammals, only barhl2 is expressed in the retina and is required for both subtype identity acquisition of amacrine cells and for the survival of RGCs downstream of Atoh7, a transcription factor necessary for RGC genesis. The underlying mechanisms of this dual role of Barhl2 in mammals have remained elusive. Whole genome duplication in the teleost lineage generated the barhl1a and barhl2 paralogues. In the Zebrafish retina, Barhl2 functions as determinant of subsets of amacrine cells lineally related to RGCs independently of Atoh7. In contrast, barhl1a expression depends on Atoh7 but its expression dynamics and function have not been studied. Here we describe for the first time a Barhl1a:GFP reporter line in vivo showing that Barhl1a turns on exclusively in subsets of RGCs and their post-mitotic precursors. We also show transient expression of Barhl1a:GFP in diencephalic neurons extending their axonal projections as part of the post-optic commissure, at the time of optic chiasm formation. This work sets the ground for future studies on RGC subtype identity, axonal projections and genetic specification of Barhl1a-positive RGCs and commissural neurons.


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