The Retina of Asian and African Elephants: Comparison of Newborn and Adult

2017 ◽  
Vol 89 (2) ◽  
pp. 84-103 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heidrun Kuhrt ◽  
Andreas Bringmann ◽  
Wolfgang Härtig ◽  
Gudrun Wibbelt ◽  
Leo Peichl ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Glutamine Synthetase ◽  
Ganglion Cell ◽  
Glial Cells ◽  
Ganglion Cells ◽  
Bipolar Cells ◽  
Horizontal Cells ◽  
Retinal Ganglion ◽  
Terrestrial Mammals ◽  
Contrast Perception ◽  
First Time

Elephants are precocial mammals that are relatively mature as newborns and mobile shortly after birth. To determine whether the retina of newborn elephants is capable of supporting the mobility of elephant calves, we compared the retinal structures of 2 newborn elephants (1 African and 1 Asian) and 2 adult animals of both species by immunohistochemical and morphometric methods. For the first time, we present here a comprehensive qualitative and quantitative characterization of the cellular composition of the newborn and the adult retinas of 2 elephant species. We found that the retina of elephants is relatively mature at birth. All retinal layers were well discernible, and various retinal cell types were detected in the newborns, including Müller glial cells (expressing glutamine synthetase and cellular retinal binding protein; CRALBP), cone photoreceptors (expressing S-opsin or M/L-opsin), protein kinase Cα-expressing bipolar cells, tyrosine hydroxylase-, choline acetyltransferase (ChAT)-, calbindin-, and calretinin-expressing amacrine cells, and calbindin-expressing horizontal cells. The retina of newborn elephants contains discrete horizontal cells which coexpress ChAT, calbindin, and calretinin. While the overall structure of the retina is very similar between newborn and adult elephants, various parameters change after birth. The postnatal thickening of the retinal ganglion cell axons and the increase in ganglion cell soma size are explained by the increase in body size after birth, and the decreases in the densities of neuronal and glial cells are explained by the postnatal expansion of the retinal surface area. The expression of glutamine synthetase and CRALBP in the Müller cells of newborn elephants suggests that the cells are already capable of supporting the activities of photoreceptors and neurons. As a peculiarity, the elephant retina contains both normally located and displaced giant ganglion cells, with single cells reaching a diameter of more than 50 µm in adults and therefore being almost in the range of giant retinal ganglion cells found in aquatic mammals. Some of these ganglion cells are displaced into the inner nuclear layer, a unique feature of terrestrial mammals. For the first time, we describe here the occurrence of many bistratified rod bipolar cells in the elephant retina. These bistratified bipolar cells may improve nocturnal contrast perception in elephants given their arrhythmic lifestyle.

Functional Circuitry for Peripheral Suppression in Mammalian Y-Type Retinal Ganglion Cells

2007 ◽  
Vol 97 (6) ◽  
pp. 4327-4340 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kareem A. Zaghloul ◽  
Michael B. Manookin ◽  
Bart G. Borghuis ◽  
Kwabena Boahen ◽  
Jonathan B. Demb
Keyword(s):  
Receptive Field ◽  
Ganglion Cell ◽  
Voltage Clamp ◽  
Ganglion Cells ◽  
Glutamate Release ◽  
High Spatial Frequency ◽  
Amacrine Cells ◽  
Horizontal Cells ◽  
Retinal Ganglion

A retinal ganglion cell receptive field is made up of an excitatory center and an inhibitory surround. The surround has two components: one driven by horizontal cells at the first synaptic layer and one driven by amacrine cells at the second synaptic layer. Here we characterized how amacrine cells inhibit the center response of on- and off-center Y-type ganglion cells in the in vitro guinea pig retina. A high spatial frequency grating (4–5 cyc/mm), beyond the spatial resolution of horizontal cells, drifted in the ganglion cell receptive field periphery to stimulate amacrine cells. The peripheral grating suppressed the ganglion cell spiking response to a central spot. Suppression of spiking was strongest and observed most consistently in off cells. In intracellular recordings, the grating suppressed the subthreshold membrane potential in two ways: a reduced slope (gain) of the stimulus-response curve by ∼20–30% and, in off cells, a tonic ∼1-mV hyperpolarization. In voltage clamp, the grating increased an inhibitory conductance in all cells and simultaneously decreased an excitatory conductance in off cells. To determine whether center response inhibition was presynaptic or postsynaptic (shunting), we measured center response gain under voltage-clamp and current-clamp conditions. Under both conditions, the peripheral grating reduced center response gain similarly. This result suggests that reduced gain in the ganglion cell subthreshold center response reflects inhibition of presynaptic bipolar terminals. Thus amacrine cells suppressed ganglion cell center response gain primarily by inhibiting bipolar cell glutamate release.

scholarly journals Synaptic inputs from identified bipolar and amacrine cells to a sparsely branched ganglion cell in rabbit retina

2019 ◽  
Vol 36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea S. Bordt ◽  
Diego Perez ◽  
Luke Tseng ◽  
Weiley Sunny Liu ◽  
Jay Neitz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ganglion Cell ◽  
Retinal Ganglion Cells ◽  
Amacrine Cell ◽  
Ganglion Cells ◽  
Amacrine Cells ◽  
Bipolar Cells ◽  
Rabbit Retina ◽  
Retinal Ganglion ◽  
Synaptic Inputs ◽  
Class Iv

AbstractThere are more than 30 distinct types of mammalian retinal ganglion cells, each sensitive to different features of the visual environment. In rabbit retina, they can be grouped into four classes according to their morphology and stratification of their dendrites in the inner plexiform layer (IPL). The goal of this study was to describe the synaptic inputs to one type of Class IV ganglion cell, the third member of the sparsely branched Class IV cells (SB3). One cell of this type was partially reconstructed in a retinal connectome developed using automated transmission electron microscopy (ATEM). It had slender, relatively straight dendrites that ramify in the sublamina a of the IPL. The dendrites of the SB3 cell were always postsynaptic in the IPL, supporting its identity as a ganglion cell. It received 29% of its input from bipolar cells, a value in the middle of the range for rabbit retinal ganglion cells studied previously. The SB3 cell typically received only one synapse per bipolar cell from multiple types of presumed OFF bipolar cells; reciprocal synapses from amacrine cells at the dyad synapses were infrequent. In a few instances, the bipolar cells presynaptic to the SB3 ganglion cell also provided input to an amacrine cell presynaptic to the ganglion cell. There was apparently no crossover inhibition from narrow-field ON amacrine cells. Most of the amacrine cell inputs were from axons and dendrites of GABAergic amacrine cells, likely providing inhibitory input from outside the classical receptive field.

The glial ensheathment of the soma and axon hillock of retinal ganglion cells

1995 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 273-279 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Stone ◽  
Felix Makarov ◽  
Horstmar Holländer
Keyword(s):  
Ganglion Cell ◽  
Initial Segment ◽  
Ganglion Cells ◽  
Müller Cells ◽  
Retinal Ganglion ◽  
Muller Cells ◽  
Axonal Membrane ◽  
Axon Hillock ◽  
First Time ◽  
Cell Sheath

AbstractWe have studied the glial investment of ganglion cells of the cat's retina, orienting the sections taken for electron microscopy so that the investment could be traced from the soma along the axon. The soma of each ganglion cell is covered by a close-fitting, continuous sheath formed by Müller cells. The axon hillock and the first part of the initial segment are invested by an extension of the somal sheath, and are thus enclosed in the same glial compartment as the soma. The initial segment extends a few microns past the Müller cell sheath; this last length of the initial segment is contacted by numerous processes of astrocytes, which converge on it in a pattern found also on nodes of the same axons, in the optic nerve. Beyond the initial segment, the intraretinal lengths of the axons are invested by both Müller cells and astrocytes, but the investment is strikingly incomplete. Large areas of axonal membrane have no glial cover, and lie close to other axonal membranes. The sequential arrangement of these distinct forms of glial wrapping of the soma, initial segment, and axon is described here for the first time. It is suggested that this pattern of glial investment controls the flow of current between dendrite and initial segment of the ganglion cell, defines the site of initiation of action spikes, and controls the formation of synapses on the soma and initial segment.

Neurotransmitter-specific identification and characterization of neurons in the all-cone retina of Anolis carolinensis II: Glutamate and aspartate

1992 ◽  
Vol 9 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 313-323 ◽  
Author(s):  
David M. Sherry ◽  
Robert J. Ulshafer
Keyword(s):  
Ganglion Cell ◽  
Ganglion Cells ◽  
Müller Cells ◽  
Plexiform Layer ◽  
Amacrine Cells ◽  
Bipolar Cells ◽  
Anolis Carolinensis ◽  
Horizontal Cells ◽  
Inner Plexiform Layer ◽  
Muller Cells

AbstractImmunocytochemical and autoradiographic methods were used to identify neurons in the pure cone retina of the lizard (Anolis carolinensis) that are likely to employ glutamate (GLU) or aspartate (ASP) as a neurotransmitter.GLU immunocytochemistry demonstrated high levels of endogenous GLU in all cone types and numerous bipolar cells. Moderate GLU levels were found in horizontal and ganglion cells. Müller cells and most amacrine cells had very low GLU levels. GLU immunoreactivity (GLU-IR) in the cones was present from the inner segment to the synaptic pedicle. A large spherical cell type with moderate GLU-IR was identified in the proximal inner plexiform layer (IPL). These cells also contain ASP and have been tentatively identified as amacrine cells. Uptake of [3H]-L-GLU labeled all retinal layers. All cone types and Müller cells sequestered [3H]-D-ASP, a substrate specific for the GLU transporter.Anti-ASP labeling was observed in cones, horizontal cells, amacrine cells, and cells in the ganglion cell layer. ASP immunoreactivity (ASP-IR) in the cones was confined to the inner segment. One ASP-containing pyriform amacrine cell subtype ramifying in IPL sublamina b was identified.Analysis of GLU-IR, ASP-IR, and GABA-IR on serial sections indicated that there were two distinct populations of horizontal cells in the Anolis retina: one containing GABA-IR, GLU-IR, and ASP-IR; and another type containing only GLU-IR and ASP-IR. Light GLU-IR was frequently found in GABA-containing amacrine cells but ASP-IR was not.The distinct distributions of GLU and ASP may indicate distinctly different roles for these amino acids. GLU, not ASP, is probably the major neurotransmitter in the cone-biploar-ganglion cell pathway of the Anolis retina. Both GLU and ASP are present in horizontal cells and specific subpopulations of amacrine cells, but it is unclear if GLU or ASP have a neurotransmitter role in these cells.

Spatiotemporal Patterns at the Retinal Output

1998 ◽  
Vol 80 (1) ◽  
pp. 447-451 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam L. Jacobs ◽  
Frank S. Werblin
Keyword(s):  
Ganglion Cell ◽  
Response Pattern ◽  
Ganglion Cells ◽  
Cell Activity ◽  
Amacrine Cells ◽  
Bipolar Cells ◽  
Spatiotemporal Patterns ◽  
Horizontal Cells ◽  
Aminobutyric Acid ◽  
Edge Enhancement

Jacobs, Adam L. and Frank S. Werblin. Spatiotemporal patterns at the retinal output. J. Neurophysiol. 80: 447–451, 1998. Edge enhancement in the retina is thought to be mediated by classical center-surround antagonism, first encountered as the interactions between horizontal cells and cones. But in the salamander retina these interactions do little to enhance edges. Instead, a robust dynamic interaction between amacrine and bipolar cells appears to be responsible for a sharp edge enhancement. To demonstrate this we recorded extracellularly from a single ganglion cell and moved a flashed square, 300 μm on a side, over a 1.5 × 1.0 mm2 grid at 25-μm increments. Playing back all of these recordings simultaneously simulated the pattern of responses that would have been measured from an array of ganglion cells. The emerging pattern of ganglion cell activity first faithfully represented the flashed square, but after ∼60 ms the center of the representation collapsed, leaving a representation of only the edges. We inferred that the feedback synapse from amacrine to bipolar cells at γ-aminobutyric acid-C (GABAC) receptors mediated this effect: bicuculline and strychnine were ineffective in altering the response pattern, but in picrotoxin the center of the representation did not collapse. The GABAergic amacrine cells thought to mediate this effect have quite narrow spread of processes, so the existence of this edge-enhancing effect suggests a mechanism quite different from classical lateral inhibition, namely the delayed inhibition of a spatially expanding input pattern.

Synaptic inputs to physiologically defined turtle retinal ganglion cells

1991 ◽  
Vol 7 (5) ◽  
pp. 409-429 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jay F. Muller ◽  
Josef Ammermüller ◽  
Richard A. Normann ◽  
Helga Kolb
Keyword(s):  
Ganglion Cell ◽  
Retinal Ganglion Cells ◽  
Bipolar Cell ◽  
Ganglion Cells ◽  
Bipolar Cells ◽  
Inner Plexiform Layer ◽  
Retinal Ganglion ◽  
Electron Microscopic Autoradiography ◽  
Golgi Impregnation ◽  
Synaptic Inputs

AbstractTwo physiologically distinct, HRP-marked turtle retinal ganglion cells were examined for their morphology, GABAergic, glycinergic, and bipolar cell synaptic inputs, using electron-microscopic autoradiography and postembedding immunocytochemistry. One cell was a color-opponent, transient ON/OFF ganglion cell. Its center response to red was a sustained hyperpolarization, and its center response to green was a depolarization with increased spiking at onset. The HRP-injected cell most resembled G6, from previous Golgi-impregnation studies (Kolb, 1982; Kolb et al., 1988). It was a narrow-field bistratified cell, whose two broad dendritic strata peaked at approximately levels L20–25 (sublamina a) and L60 (sublamina b) of the inner plexiform layer. Bipolar cell synapses onto G6 were found evenly distributed between its distal and proximal dendritic strata, spanning L20–75. These inputs probably originated from several different bipolar cells, reflecting the complexity of the center response. GABAergic inputs were found onto both the distal and proximal strata, from near L20–L85. Only a few glycinergic inputs, confined to dendrites at L50–70, were observed.A second ganglion cell type that we physiologically characterized and HRP-injected had sustained ON-center, sustained OFF-surround responses. Two examples were studied; both were bistratified in sublamina b, near L60–70 and L85–100, with branches up to near L40. They resembled G10, from previous Golgi-impregnation studies (Kolb, 1982; Kolb et al., 1988). One cell was partially reconstructed to look at the distributions of GABAergic and glycinergic amacrine cell, and bipolar cell inputs. Although synapses from bipolar cells were equally divided between the two major dendritic strata of G10, the inputs to the distal stratum were close to the soma, and the inputs to the more proximal stratum were on the peripheral dendrites. This arrangement may reflect input from two distinct types of ON-bipolar cell. GABAergic and glycinergic inputs to G10 costratified to both strata and to the distal branches; but where glycinergic inputs were found distributed throughout the arbor, GABAergic inputs appeared to be confined to peripheral dendrites. We hypothesize on the neural elements involved and the circuitry that may underlie the physiologically recorded receptive fields of these two very different ganglion cell types in the turtle retina.

Parallel Processing in Retinal Ganglion Cells: How Integration of Space-Time Patterns of Excitation and Inhibition Form the Spiking Output

2006 ◽  
Vol 95 (6) ◽  
pp. 3810-3822 ◽  
Author(s):  
Botond Roska ◽  
Alyosha Molnar ◽  
Frank S. Werblin
Keyword(s):  
Ganglion Cell ◽  
Ganglion Cells ◽  
Space Time ◽  
Dendritic Morphology ◽  
Bipolar Cells ◽  
Wide Field ◽  
Retinal Ganglion ◽  
Cell Type ◽  
Time Patterns ◽  
Output Pattern

Our goal was to understand how patterns of excitation and inhibition, interacting across arrays of ganglion cells in space and time, generate the spiking output pattern for each ganglion cell type. We presented the retina with a 1-s flashed square, 600 μm on a side, and measured patterns of excitation and inhibition over an 1,800-μm–wide region encompassing many ganglion cells. Excitatory patterns of on ganglion cells resembled rectified versions of the voltage patterns of on bipolar cells. Inhibitory patterns in on ganglion cells resembled the rectified versions of voltage patterns of off bipolar cells. off ganglion cells received off excitation and on inhibition. Many ganglion cells also received an additional wide field transient inhibition derived from the activity of both on and off bipolar cells. Ganglion cell spiking was suppressed in those space-time regions dominated by inhibition. We classified each ganglion cell type by correlating its space-time patterns with its dendritic morphology. These studies suggest the bipolar and amacrine cell circuitry underlying the interplay between on and off signals that generate spiking patterns in ganglion cells. They reveal a surprising synergistic interaction between excitation and inhibition in most ganglion cells.

scholarly journals Dynamic Expression of HDAC3 in db/db Mouse RGCs and Its Relationship with Apoptosis and Autophagy

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Yuhong Fu ◽  
Ying Wang ◽  
Xinyuan Gao ◽  
Huiyao Li ◽  
Yue Yuan
Keyword(s):  
Diabetic Retinopathy ◽  
Ganglion Cell ◽  
Retinal Ganglion Cells ◽  
Retinal Ganglion Cell ◽  
Ganglion Cells ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Diabetic Patients ◽  
Retinal Ganglion ◽  
Glucose Levels ◽  
Dynamic Expression

Background. Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a severe complication of diabetes mellitus. DR is considered as a neurovascular disease. Retinal ganglion cell (RGC) loss plays an important role in the vision function disorder of diabetic patients. Histone deacetylase3 (HDAC3) is closely related to injury repair and nerve regeneration. The correlation between HDAC3 and retinal ganglion cells in diabetic retinopathy is still unclear yet. Methods. To investigate the chronological sequence of the abnormalities of retinal ganglion cells in diabetic retinopathy, we choose 15 male db/db mice (aged 8 weeks, 12 weeks, 16 weeks, 18 weeks, and 25 weeks; each group had 3 mice) as diabetic groups and 3 male db/m mice (aged 8 weeks) as the control group. In this study, we examined the morphological and immunohistochemical changes of HDAC3, Caspase3, and LC3B in a sequential manner by characterizing the process of retinal ganglion cell variation. Results. Blood glucose levels and body weights of db/db mice were significantly higher than that of the control group, P<0.01. Compared with the control group, the number of retinal ganglion cells decreased with the duration of disease increasing. HDAC3 expression gradually increased in RGCs of db/db mice. Caspase3 expression gradually accelerated in RGCs of db/db mice. LC3B expression dynamically changed in RGCs of db/db mice. HDAC3 was positively correlated with Caspase3 expression (r=0.7424), P<0.01. HDAC3 was positively correlated with LC3B expression (r=0.7336), P<0.01. Discussion. We clarified the dynamic expression changes of HDAC3, Caspase3, and LC3B in retinal ganglion cells of db/db mice. Our results suggest the HDAC3 expression has a positive correlation with apoptosis and autophagy.

Differences in nitric oxide production: a comparison of retinal ganglion cells and retinal glial cells cultured under hypoxic conditions

2003 ◽  
Vol 112 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 126-134 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenji Kashiwagi ◽  
Yoko Iizuka ◽  
Seiichi Mochizuki ◽  
Yuichi Tsumamoto ◽  
Hiromu K Mishima ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nitric Oxide ◽  
Retinal Ganglion Cells ◽  
Glial Cells ◽  
Ganglion Cells ◽  
Nitric Oxide Production ◽  
Retinal Ganglion ◽  
Oxide Production ◽  
Hypoxic Conditions ◽  
Cells Cultured

scholarly journals Spatial receptive field properties of rat retinal ganglion cells

2011 ◽  
Vol 28 (5) ◽  
pp. 403-417 ◽  
Author(s):  
WALTER F. HEINE ◽  
CHRISTOPHER L. PASSAGLIA
Keyword(s):  
Receptive Field ◽  
Ganglion Cell ◽  
Retinal Ganglion Cells ◽  
Ganglion Cells ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
Quantitative Information ◽  
Retinal Ganglion ◽  
X And Y Cells ◽  
Y Cells

AbstractThe rat is a popular animal model for vision research, yet there is little quantitative information about the physiological properties of the cells that provide its brain with visual input, the retinal ganglion cells. It is not clear whether rats even possess the full complement of ganglion cell types found in other mammals. Since such information is important for evaluating rodent models of visual disease and elucidating the function of homologous and heterologous cells in different animals, we recorded from rat ganglion cells in vivo and systematically measured their spatial receptive field (RF) properties using spot, annulus, and grating patterns. Most of the recorded cells bore likeness to cat X and Y cells, exhibiting brisk responses, center-surround RFs, and linear or nonlinear spatial summation. The others resembled various types of mammalian W cell, including local-edge-detector cells, suppressed-by-contrast cells, and an unusual type with an ON–OFF surround. They generally exhibited sluggish responses, larger RFs, and lower responsiveness. The peak responsivity of brisk-nonlinear (Y-type) cells was around twice that of brisk-linear (X-type) cells and several fold that of sluggish cells. The RF size of brisk-linear and brisk-nonlinear cells was indistinguishable, with average center and surround diameters of 5.6 ± 1.3 and 26.4 ± 11.3 deg, respectively. In contrast, the center diameter of recorded sluggish cells averaged 12.8 ± 7.9 deg. The homogeneous RF size of rat brisk cells is unlike that of cat X and Y cells, and its implication regarding the putative roles of these two ganglion cell types in visual signaling is discussed.

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