The development of the pattern of retinal ganglion cells in the chick retina: mechanisms that control differentiation

Development ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 126 (24) ◽  
pp. 5713-5724 ◽  
Author(s):  
K.L. McCabe ◽  
E.C. Gunther ◽  
T.A. Reh

Neurons in both vertebrate and invertebrate eyes are organized in regular arrays. Although much is known about the mechanisms involved in the formation of the regular arrays of neurons found in invertebrate eyes, much less is known about the mechanisms of formation of neuronal mosaics in the vertebrate eye. The purpose of these studies was to determine the cellular mechanisms that pattern the first neurons in vertebrate retina, the retinal ganglion cells. We have found that the ganglion cells in the chick retina develop as a patterned array that spreads from the central to peripheral retina as a wave front of differentiation. The onset of ganglion cell differentiation keeps pace with overall retinal growth; however, there is no clear cell cycle synchronization at the front of differentiation of the first ganglion cells. The differentiation of ganglion cells is not dependent on signals from previously formed ganglion cells, since isolation of the peripheral retina by as much as 400 μm from the front of ganglion cell differentiation does not prevent new ganglion cells from developing. Consistent with previous studies, blocking FGF receptor activation with a specific inhibitor to the FGFRs retards the movement of the front of ganglion cell differentiation, while application of exogenous FGF1 causes the precocious development of ganglion cells in peripheral retina. Our observations, taken together with those of previous studies, support a role for FGFs and FGF receptor activation in the initial development of retinal ganglion cells from the undifferentiated neuroepithelium peripheral to the expanding wave front of differentiation.

Development ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 129 (2) ◽  
pp. 467-477 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven W. Wang ◽  
Xiuqian Mu ◽  
William J. Bowers ◽  
Dong-Seob Kim ◽  
Daniel J. Plas ◽  
...  

In mice, Brn3 POU domain transcription factors play essential roles in the differentiation and survival of projection neurons within the retina, inner ear, dorsal root and trigeminal ganglia. During retinal ganglion cell differentiation, Brn3b is expressed first, followed by Brn3a and Brn3c. Targeted deletion of Brn3b, but not Brn3a or Brn3c, leads to a loss of most retinal ganglion cells before birth. However, as a few retinal ganglion cells are still present in Brn3b–/– mice, Brn3a and Brn3c may partially compensate for the loss of Brn3b. To examine the role of Brn3c in retinal ganglion cell development, we generated Brn3b/Brn3c double knockout mice and analyzed their retinas and optic chiasms. Retinal ganglion cell axons from double knockout mice were more severely affected than were those from Brn3b-deficient mice, indicating that Brn3c was required for retinal ganglion cell differentiation and could partially compensate for the loss of Brn3b. Moreover, Brn3c had functions in retinal ganglion cell differentiation separate from those of Brn3b. Ipsilateral and misrouted projections at the optic chiasm were overproduced in Brn3b–/– mice but missing were entirely in optic chiasms of Brn3b/Brn3c double knockout mice, suggesting that Brn3c controlled ipsilateral axon production. Forced expression of Brn3c in Brn3b–/– retinal explants restored neurite outgrowth, demonstrating that Brn3c could promote axon outgrowth in the absence of Brn3b. Our results reveal a complex genetic relationship between Brn3b and Brn3c in regulating the retinal ganglion cell axon outgrowth.


2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 ◽  
pp. 1-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ming-Hui Yang ◽  
Raghu R. Krishnamoorthy ◽  
Shiang-Bin Jong ◽  
Pei-Yu Chu ◽  
Yuan-Han Yang ◽  
...  

The purpose of this paper was to characterize proteins secreted from the human nonpigmented ciliary epithelial (HNPE) cells, which have differentiated a rat retinal ganglion cell line, RGC-5. Undifferentiated RGC-5 cells have been shown to express several marker proteins characteristic of retinal ganglion cells. However, RGC-5 cells do not respond to N-methyl-D aspartate (NMDA), or glutamate. HNPE cells have been shown to secrete numbers of neuropeptides or neuroproteins also found in the aqueous humor, many of which have the ability to influence the activity of neuronal cells. This paper details the profile of HNPE cell-secreted proteins by proteomic approaches. The experimental results revealed the identification of 132 unique proteins from the HNPE cell-conditioned SF-medium. The biological functions of a portion of these identified proteins are involved in cell differentiation. We hypothesized that a differentiation system of HNPE cell-conditioned SF-medium with RGC-5 cells can induce a differentiated phenotype in RGC-5 cells, with functional characteristics that more closely resemble primary cultures of rat retinal ganglion cells. These proteins may replace harsh chemicals, which are currently used to induce cell differentiation.


Perception ◽  
1974 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 257-260 ◽  
Author(s):  
A Cowey

The retinal ganglion cells were counted in a rhesus monkey from which the striate cortex had been removed 8 years earlier, and the results compared with those obtained previously with the eyes of normal monkeys. About 80% of the ganglion cells within 10 degrees of the fovea were missing. Peripherally their density was unaffected. The ganglion cell layer of the entire retina resembled the peripheral retina of a normal monkey, and this result helps to explain the remarkable nature of the animal's vision.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Yuhong Fu ◽  
Ying Wang ◽  
Xinyuan Gao ◽  
Huiyao Li ◽  
Yue Yuan

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.


2011 ◽  
Vol 28 (5) ◽  
pp. 403-417 ◽  
Author(s):  
WALTER F. HEINE ◽  
CHRISTOPHER L. PASSAGLIA

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.


Development ◽  
1980 ◽  
Vol 55 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-92
Author(s):  
S. C. Sharma ◽  
J. G. Hollyfield

The specification of central connexions of retinal ganglion cells was studied in Xenopus laevis. In one series of experiments, the right eye primordium was rotated 180° at embryonic stages 24–32. In the other series, the left eye was transplanted into the right orbit, and vice versa, with either 0° or 180° rotation. After metamorphosis the visual projections from the operated eye to the contralateral optic tectum were mapped electrophysiologically and compared with the normal retinotectal map. In all cases the visual projection map was rotated through the same angle as was indicated by the position of the choroidal fissure. The left eye exchanged into the right orbit retained its original axes and projected to the contralateral tectum. These results suggest that retinal ganglion cell connexions are specified before stage 24.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Michal Geva ◽  
Noga Gershoni-Emek ◽  
Luana Naia ◽  
Philip Ly ◽  
Sandra Mota ◽  
...  

AbstractOptic neuropathies such as glaucoma are characterized by retinal ganglion cell (RGC) degeneration and death. The sigma-1 receptor (S1R) is an attractive target for treating optic neuropathies as it is highly expressed in RGCs, and its absence causes retinal degeneration. Activation of the S1R exerts neuroprotective effects in models of retinal degeneration. Pridopidine is a highly selective and potent S1R agonist in clinical development. We show that pridopidine exerts neuroprotection of retinal ganglion cells in two different rat models of glaucoma. Pridopidine strongly binds melanin, which is highly expressed in the retina. This feature of pridopidine has implications to its ocular distribution, bioavailability, and effective dose. Mitochondria dysfunction is a key contributor to retinal ganglion cell degeneration. Pridopidine rescues mitochondrial function via activation of the S1R, providing support for the potential mechanism driving its neuroprotective effect in retinal ganglion cells.


2011 ◽  
Vol 52 (8) ◽  
pp. 5515 ◽  
Author(s):  
Preethi S. Ganapathy ◽  
Richard E. White ◽  
Yonju Ha ◽  
B. Renee Bozard ◽  
Paul L. McNeil ◽  
...  

1992 ◽  
Vol 9 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 389-398 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luiz R. G. Britto ◽  
Dȃnia E. Hamassaki-Britto

AbstractA small number of enkephalin-like immunoreactive cells were observed in the ganglion cell layer of the pigeon retina. Many of these neurons were identified as ganglion cells, since they were retrogradely labeled after injections of fluorescent latex microspheres in the contralateral optic tectum. These ganglion cells were mainly distributed in the inferior retina, and their soma sizes ranged from 12–26 μm in the largest axis. The enkephalin-containing ganglion cells appear to represent only a very small percentage of the ganglion cells projecting to the optic tectum (less than 0.1%). Two to 7 weeks after removal of the neural retina, there was an almost complete elimination of an enkephalin-like immunoreactive plexus in layer 3 of the contralateral, rostrodorsal optic tectum. These data provide evidence for the existence of a population of enkephalinergic retinal ganglion cells with projections to the optic tectum.


2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
James R Tribble ◽  
Asta Vasalauskaite ◽  
Tony Redmond ◽  
Robert D Young ◽  
Shoaib Hassan ◽  
...  

Abstract Glaucoma is characterized by the progressive dysfunction and loss of retinal ganglion cells. However, the earliest degenerative events that occur in human glaucoma are relatively unknown. Work in animal models has demonstrated that retinal ganglion cell dendrites remodel and atrophy prior to the loss of the cell soma. Whether this occurs in human glaucoma has yet to be elucidated. Serial block face scanning electron microscopy is well established as a method to determine neuronal connectivity at high resolution but so far has only been performed in normal retina from animal models. To assess the structure–function relationship of early human glaucomatous neurodegeneration, regions of inner retina assessed to have none-to-moderate loss of retinal ganglion cell number were processed using serial block face scanning electron microscopy (n = 4 normal retinas, n = 4 glaucoma retinas). This allowed detailed 3D reconstruction of retinal ganglion cells and their intracellular components at a nanometre scale. In our datasets, retinal ganglion cell dendrites degenerate early in human glaucoma, with remodelling and redistribution of the mitochondria. We assessed the relationship between visual sensitivity and retinal ganglion cell density and discovered that this only partially conformed to predicted models of structure–function relationships, which may be affected by these early neurodegenerative changes. In this study, human glaucomatous retinal ganglion cells demonstrate compartmentalized degenerative changes as observed in animal models. Importantly, in these models, many of these changes have been demonstrated to be reversible, increasing the likelihood of translation to viable therapies for human glaucoma.


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