scholarly journals ULTRASTRUCTURAL LOCALIZATION OF CHOLINESTERASE ACTIVITY IN THE DEVELOPING RAT RETINA

1974 ◽  
Vol 22 (9) ◽  
pp. 868-880 ◽  
Author(s):  
ARTHUR W. SPIRA
Keyword(s):  
Endoplasmic Reticulum ◽  
Rough Endoplasmic Reticulum ◽  
Cholinesterase Activity ◽  
Ganglion Cells ◽  
Plexiform Layer ◽  
Ultrastructural Localization ◽  
Acetylcholinesterase Activity ◽  
Inner Plexiform Layer ◽  
Cholinesterase Activities ◽  
Developing Rat

Retinae of rats from the 16th day of gestation to 10 weeks postnatal age were treated for the ultrastructural localization of cholinesterases according to the method of Lewis and Shute. The use of selective inhibitors served to differentiate between acetylcholinesterase and nonspecific cholinesterase activities. Nonspecific cholinesterase activity was marked in the rough endoplasmic reticulum of pigmented epithelium but only during the 1st 2 postnatal weeks. Acetylcholinesterase activity was prominent (a) in the rough endoplasmic reticulum, nuclear envelope and Golgi apparatus of ganglion cells in fetal and mature retinae; (b) transiently, between processes in the outer plexiform layer and in the perikarya of some horizontal cells; and (c) between processes in the inner plexiform layer coincident with the appearance of synapses, as well as in the mature retina. These localizations are suggestive of an association between cholinesterases and early stages of photoreceptor segment formation and consistent with a function in plexiform layer maturation and synaptic transmission in the inner plexiform layer.

scholarly journals THE FINE STRUCTURAL LOCALIZATION OF ACETYLCHOLINESTERASE ACTIVITY IN THE RETINA AND OPTIC NERVE OF RABBITS

1971 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 85-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. REALE ◽  
L. LUCIANO ◽  
M. SPITZNAS
Keyword(s):  
Endoplasmic Reticulum ◽  
Optic Nerve ◽  
Ganglion Cells ◽  
Plexiform Layer ◽  
Amacrine Cells ◽  
Acetylcholinesterase Activity ◽  
Horizontal Cells ◽  
Histochemical Reaction ◽  
Fiber Layer ◽  
Structural Localization

In the rabbit retina acetylcholinesterase activity is localized in the perinuclear cisterna, in the cisternae of the rough surfaced endoplasmic reticulum and in the Golgi apparatus of ganglion cells and amacrine cells. The histochemical reaction is positive also in the rough surfaced endoplasmic reticulum of some horizontal cells. The highest activity is seen in the internal plexiform layer; because of artifacts caused by the diffusion of the enzyme, a clear demonstration of relation of the positivity to one or the other regular components of this layer, however, is not possible. Myelinated fibers which exhibit acetylcholinesterase activity and are most probably efferent are found in the internal plexiform layer. In the retinal nerve fiber layer and in the optic nerve only a few fibers show a positive reaction.

Expression of glycine and the glycine transporter Glyt-1 in the developing rat retina

2000 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
DAVID V. POW ◽  
ANITA E. HENDRICKSON
Keyword(s):  
Ganglion Cells ◽  
Outer Part ◽  
Plexiform Layer ◽  
Amacrine Cells ◽  
Bipolar Cells ◽  
Horizontal Cells ◽  
Inner Plexiform Layer ◽  
Rat Retina ◽  
Glycine Transporter ◽  
Developing Rat

Previous studies show that glycine transporter-1 (glyt-1) is a consistent membrane marker of adult retinal neurons that are likely to release glycine at their synaptic terminals (Pow, 1998; Vaney et al., 1998; Pow & Hendrickson, 1999). The current study investigated when glyt-1 immunoreactivity appeared in the postnatal rat retina, and whether all glycine-containing neurons also labelled for glyt-1. Ganglion cells, horizontal cells, and photoreceptors showed transient labelling. Many cells in the ganglion cell layer are immunoreactive for both glycine and glyt-1 at postnatal day (Pd) 1 but both are minimal by Pd5. Transient immunoreactivity for both glyt-1 and glycine was observed in presumptive horizontal cells between Pd5 and Pd10. At Pd1 many cells in the outer part of the retina which resembled immature photoreceptors were heavily labelled for glycine, but did not express glyt-1; these disappeared at older ages. These findings suggest diverse mechanisms and transient roles for glycine in the developing rat retina. In the adult rat retina, a subpopulation of amacrine cells are prominently immunoreactive for both glycine and glyt-1. These cells labelled for glycine at Pd1, but did not express significant levels of glyt-1 until Pd5. Processes from these amacrine cells did not reach the inner half of the inner plexiform layer until Pd10–14. Bipolar cells became glycine-IR between Pd10 and Pd14, but consistently lacked any glyt-1 immunoreactivity. This temporal pattern of labelling strongly indicates that bipolar cells label for glycine when gap junctions become functional between glycine/glyt-1 immunoreactive amacrine cells and cone bipolar cells.

A possible structural basis for the extracellular release of acetylcholinesterase

1975 ◽  
Vol 191 (1103) ◽  
pp. 271-283 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Endoplasmic Reticulum ◽  
Nuclear Envelope ◽  
Chromaffin Cells ◽  
Plasma Membranes ◽  
Cholinesterase Activity ◽  
Smooth Endoplasmic Reticulum ◽  
Splanchnic Nerve ◽  
Ultrastructural Localization ◽  
Acetylcholinesterase Activity ◽  
Structural Basis

The ultrastructural localization of acetylcholinesterase and non-specific cholinesterase activity has been studied in sections of ox adrenal medulla by cytochemical methods. Non-specific cholinesterase activity, identified by using butyrylthiocholine as substrate and ethopropazine as inhibitor, occurs intracellularly in some adrenaline-containing chromaffin cells: the reaction end-product is deposited within the cisternae of the endoplasmic reticulum and in the nuclear envelope. Reaction end-product of non-specific cholinesterase also occurs in the endoplasmic reticulum of pericytes, around sinusoids and capillaries and within smooth muscle cells. Acetylcholinesterase activity, identified by using acetylthiocholine as substrate and BW 284C51 as inhibitor, occurs in both the splanchnic nerve and in chromaffin cells. Reaction end-product is found at the following sites (i) around myelinated and unmyelinated non-terminal axons of splanchnic nerve, between the axolemma and the Schwann cell membrane; (ii) within the cisternae of axonal smooth endoplasmic reticulum; sometimes these cisternae appear to be connected to the axolemma; (iii) between the axolemmas of preterminal axons and the plasma membranes of chromaffin cells; (iv) between the axolemmas of nerve terminals and the plasma membranes of chromaffin cells, including the synaptic cleft; (v) within cisternae of rough and smooth endoplasmic reticulum, and also within the nuclear envelope, of both adrenaline- and noradrenaline-containing chromaffin cells; (vi) between the plasma membranes of adjacent chromaffin cells, but only when one or both of these cells contain reaction product within the cisternae of its endoplasmic reticulum; these cisternae sometimes appear to be connected to the plasma membrane. These observations raise the question whether the acetylcholinesterase activity released from the perfused adrenal gland might originate from the cisternae of the endoplasmic reticula of splanchnic nerve and/or chromaffin cell.

A coupled network for parasol but not midget ganglion cells in the primate retina

1992 ◽  
Vol 9 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 279-290 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dennis M. Dacey ◽  
Sarah Brace
Keyword(s):  
Nearest Neighbor ◽  
Ganglion Cells ◽  
Plexiform Layer ◽  
Amacrine Cells ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
Distinct Pattern ◽  
Field Size ◽  
Inner Plexiform Layer ◽  
Dendritic Field

AbstractIntracellular injections of Neurobiotin were used to determine whether the major ganglion cell classes of the macaque monkey retina, the magnocellular-projecting parasol, and the parvocellular-projecting midget cells showed evidence of cellular coupling similar to that recently described for cat retinal ganglion cells. Ganglion cells were labeled with the fluorescent dye acridine orange in an in vitro, isolated retina preparation and were selectively targeted for intracellular injection under direct microscopic control. The macaque midget cells, like the beta cells of the cat's retina, showed no evidence of tracer coupling when injected with Neurobiotin. By contrast, Neurobiotin-filled parasol cells, like cat alpha cells, showed a distinct pattern of tracer coupling to each other (homotypic coupling) and to amacrine cells (heterotypic coupling).In instances of homotypic coupling, the injected parasol cell was surrounded by a regular array of 3–6 neighboring parasol cells. The somata and proximal dendrites of these tracer-coupled cells were lightly labeled and appeared to costratify with the injected cell. Analysis of the nearest-neighbor distances for the parasol cell clusters showed that dendritic-field overlap remained constant as dendritic-field size increased from 100–400 μm in diameter.At least two amacrine cell types showed tracer coupling to parasol cells. One amacrine type had a small soma and thin, sparsely branching dendrites that extended for 1–2 mm in the inner plexiform layer. A second amacrine type had a relatively large soma, thick main dendrites, and distinct, axon-like processes that extended for at least 2–3 mm in the inner plexiform layer. The main dendrites of the large amacrine cells were closely apposed to the dendrites of parasol cells and may be the site of Neurobiotin transfer between the two cell types. We suggest that the tracer coupling between neighboring parasol cells takes place indirectly via the dendrites of the large amacrine cells and provides a mechanism, absent in midget cells, for increasing parasol cell receptive-field size and luminance contrast sensitivity.

Development of cholinergic amacrine cell stratification in the ferret retina and the effects of early excitotoxic ablation

2001 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 559-570 ◽  
Author(s):  
B.E. REESE ◽  
M.A. RAVEN ◽  
K.A. GIANNOTTI ◽  
P.T. JOHNSON
Keyword(s):  
Ganglion Cell ◽  
Ganglion Cells ◽  
Plexiform Layer ◽  
Amacrine Cells ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
Retinal Cell ◽  
Inner Plexiform Layer ◽  
Retinal Ganglion ◽  
Outer Border ◽  
Cholinergic Amacrine Cells

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.

Alterations in NMDA receptor expression during retinal degeneration in the RCS rat

2001 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  
pp. 781-787 ◽  
Author(s):  
TATIANA GRÜNDER ◽  
KONRAD KOHLER ◽  
ELKE GUENTHER
Keyword(s):  
Ganglion Cells ◽  
Plexiform Layer ◽  
Amacrine Cells ◽  
Photoreceptor Cells ◽  
Receptor Expression ◽  
Signal Pathways ◽  
Inner Plexiform Layer ◽  
Functional Changes ◽  
Rcs Rat ◽  
Rcs Rats

To determine how a progressive loss of photoreceptor cells and the concomitant loss of glutamatergic input to second-order neurons can affect inner-retinal signaling, glutamate receptor expression was analyzed in the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) rat, an animal model of retinitis pigmentosa. Immunohistochemistry was performed on retinal sections of RCS rats and congenic controls between postnatal (P) day 3 and the aged adult (up to P350) using specific antibodies against N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) subunits. All NMDA subunits (NR1, NR2A–2D) were expressed in control and dystrophic retinas at all ages, and distinct patterns of labeling were found in horizontal cells, subpopulations of amacrine cells and ganglion cells, as well as in the outer and inner plexiform layer (IPL). NR1 immunoreactivity in the inner plexiform layer of adult control retinas was concentrated in two distinct bands, indicating a synaptic localization of NMDA receptors in the OFF and ON signal pathways. In the RCS retina, these bands of NR1 immunoreactivity in the IPL were much weaker in animals older than P40. In parallel, NR2B immunoreactivity in the outer plexiform layer (OPL) of RCS rats was always reduced compared to controls and vanished between P40 and P120. The most striking alteration observed in the degenerating retina, however, was a strong expression of NR1 immunoreactivity in Müller cell processes in the inner retina which was not observed in control animals and which was present prior to any visible sign of photoreceptor degeneration. The results suggest functional changes in glutamatergic receptor signaling in the dystrophic retina and a possible involvement of Müller cells in early processes of this disease.

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.

scholarly journals Formation of retinal direction-selective circuitry initiated by starburst amacrine cell homotypic contact

eLife ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas A Ray ◽  
Suva Roy ◽  
Christopher Kozlowski ◽  
Jingjing Wang ◽  
Jon Cafaro ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Synapse Formation ◽  
Ganglion Cells ◽  
Plexiform Layer ◽  
Surface Protein ◽  
Amacrine Cells ◽  
Direction Selectivity ◽  
Mouse Retina ◽  
Inner Plexiform Layer ◽  
Starburst Amacrine Cells ◽  
Developing Neurons

A common strategy by which developing neurons locate their synaptic partners is through projections to circuit-specific neuropil sublayers. Once established, sublayers serve as a substrate for selective synapse formation, but how sublayers arise during neurodevelopment remains unknown. Here, we identify the earliest events that initiate formation of the direction-selective circuit in the inner plexiform layer of mouse retina. We demonstrate that radially migrating newborn starburst amacrine cells establish homotypic contacts on arrival at the inner retina. These contacts, mediated by the cell-surface protein MEGF10, trigger neuropil innervation resulting in generation of two sublayers comprising starburst-cell dendrites. This dendritic scaffold then recruits projections from circuit partners. Abolishing MEGF10-mediated contacts profoundly delays and ultimately disrupts sublayer formation, leading to broader direction tuning and weaker direction-selectivity in retinal ganglion cells. Our findings reveal a mechanism by which differentiating neurons transition from migratory to mature morphology, and highlight this mechanism’s importance in forming circuit-specific sublayers.

The structural and functional development of the retina in larval Xenopus

Development ◽  
1975 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 915-940
Author(s):  
S. H. Chung ◽  
R. Victoria Stirling ◽  
R. M. Gaze
Keyword(s):  
Ganglion Cells ◽  
Single Layer ◽  
Plexiform Layer ◽  
Distinct Pattern ◽  
Inner Plexiform Layer ◽  
Retinal Ganglion ◽  
Response Characteristics ◽  
Functional Development ◽  
New Type ◽  
Plexiform Layers

The structural transformations of the larval Xenopus retina at successive stages of development, and concomitant changes in response characteristics of retinal ganglion cells, were studied using histological and electrophysiological techniques. The first sign of visually evoked electrical responses appears at about the time when the ganglion cells spread out into a single layer and shortly after the inner and outer plexiform layers become discernible. Initially giving simple ‘on’ responses, the cells progressively change their response characteristics and become ‘event’ units. Subsequently, ‘dimming’ units can be identified. Throughout larval life, response properties of these two types become more distinct from one another and approximate to those found in the adult. So do the arborization patterns of the dendritic trees of the ganglion cells. Two types of branching patterns are identifiable in Golgi preparations. Around metamorphic climax, a new type of ganglion cell appears, coinciding with the emergence of ‘sustained’ units electrophysiologically. After metamorphosis, the retina still grows both in thickness (mainly in the inner plexiform layer) and diameter. The three unit types change such that they come to show pronounced inhibitory effects from the peripheral visual field on the receptive field and each unit type acquires a distinct pattern of endogenous discharge.

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