scholarly journals Loss of Pde6a Induces Rod Outer Segment Shrinkage and Visual Alterations in pde6aQ70X Mutant Zebrafish, a Relevant Model of Retinal Dystrophy

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucie Crouzier ◽  
Camille Diez ◽  
Elodie M. Richard ◽  
Nicolas Cubedo ◽  
Clément Barbereau ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Visual Function ◽  
Outer Segment ◽  
Retinal Dystrophy ◽  
Segment Length ◽  
Rod Photoreceptor ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Loss Of Function ◽  
Rod Outer Segment ◽  
Inherited Retinal Degeneration ◽  
Photoreceptor Death

Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is one of the most common forms of inherited retinal degeneration with 1/4,000 people being affected. The vision alteration primarily begins with rod photoreceptor degeneration, then the degenerative process continues with cone photoreceptor death. Variants in 71 genes have been linked to RP. One of these genes, PDE6a is responsible for RP43. To date no treatment is available and patients suffer from pronounced visual impairment in early childhood. We used the novel zebrafish pde6aQ70X mutant, generated by N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea at the European Zebrafish Resource Centre, to better understand how PDE6a loss of function leads to photoreceptor alteration. Interestingly, zebrafish pde6aQ70X mutants exhibited impaired visual function at 5 dpf as evidenced by the decrease in their visual motor response (VMR) compared to pde6aWT larvae. This impaired visual function progressed with time and was more severe at 21 dpf. These modifications were associated with an alteration of rod outer segment length at 5 and 21 dpf. In summary, these findings suggest that rod outer segment shrinkage due to Pde6a deficiency begins very early in zebrafish, progresses with time. The zebrafish pde6aQ70X mutant represents an ideal model of RP to screen relevant active small molecules that will block the progression of the disease.

scholarly journals Pathogenic STX3 variants affecting the retinal and intestinal transcripts cause an early-onset severe retinal dystrophy in microvillus inclusion disease subjects

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas R. Janecke ◽  
Xiaoqin Liu ◽  
Rüdiger Adam ◽  
Sumanth Punuru ◽  
Arne Viestenz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Early Onset ◽  
Single Nucleotide Polymorphism Array ◽  
Outer Nuclear Layer ◽  
Retinal Dystrophy ◽  
Geographic Origin ◽  
Retinal Disease ◽  
Homozygosity Mapping ◽  
Rod Photoreceptor ◽  
Loss Of Function ◽  
Knockout Mouse Model

AbstractBiallelic STX3 variants were previously reported in five individuals with the severe congenital enteropathy, microvillus inclusion disease (MVID). Here, we provide a significant extension of the phenotypic spectrum caused by STX3 variants. We report ten individuals of diverse geographic origin with biallelic STX3 loss-of-function variants, identified through exome sequencing, single-nucleotide polymorphism array-based homozygosity mapping, and international collaboration. The evaluated individuals all presented with MVID. Eight individuals also displayed early-onset severe retinal dystrophy, i.e., syndromic—intestinal and retinal—disease. These individuals harbored STX3 variants that affected both the retinal and intestinal STX3 transcripts, whereas STX3 variants affected only the intestinal transcript in individuals with solitary MVID. That STX3 is essential for retinal photoreceptor survival was confirmed by the creation of a rod photoreceptor-specific STX3 knockout mouse model which revealed a time-dependent reduction in the number of rod photoreceptors, thinning of the outer nuclear layer, and the eventual loss of both rod and cone photoreceptors. Together, our results provide a link between STX3 loss-of-function variants and a human retinal dystrophy. Depending on the genomic site of a human loss-of-function STX3 variant, it can cause MVID, the novel intestinal-retinal syndrome reported here or, hypothetically, an isolated retinal dystrophy.

scholarly journals Loss of CEP162 function at the primary cilium delays ciliogenesis and causes retinal ciliopathy in humans

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nafisa Nuzhat ◽  
Kristof Van Schil ◽  
Sandra Liakopoulos ◽  
Miriam Bauwens ◽  
Alfredo Dueñas Rey ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Transition Zone ◽  
Primary Cilium ◽  
Outer Segment ◽  
Retinal Dystrophy ◽  
Mrna Levels ◽  
Loss Of Function ◽  
Photoreceptor Outer Segment ◽  
Zone Formation ◽  
Mother Centriole

Ciliopathies often comprise retinal degeneration since the photoreceptor outer segment is an adapted primary cilium. CEP162 is a distal end centriolar protein required for proper transition zone assembly during ciliogenesis and whose loss causes ciliopathy in zebrafish. CEP162 has so far not been implicated in human disease. Here, we identified a homozygous CEP162 frameshift variant, c.1935dupA (p.(E646R*5)), in retinitis pigmentosa patients from two unrelated Moroccan families, likely representing a founder allele. We found that even though mRNA levels were reduced, the truncated CEP162-E646R*5 protein was expressed and localized to the mitotic spindle during mitosis, but not at the basal body of the cilium. In CEP162 knockdown cells, expression of the truncated CEP162-E646R*5 protein is unable to restore ciliation indicating its loss of function at the cilium. In patient fibroblasts, cilia overcome the absence of CEP162 from the primary cilium by delaying ciliogenesis through the persistence of CP110 at the mother centriole. The patient fibroblasts are ultimately able to extend some abnormally long cilia that are missing key transition zone components. Defective transition zone formation likely disproportionately affects the long-living ciliary outer segment of photoreceptors resulting in retinal dystrophy. CEP162 is expressed in human retina, and we show that wild-type CEP162, but not truncated CEP162-E646R*5, specifically localizes to the distal end of centrioles of mouse photoreceptor cilia. Together, our genetic, cell-based, and in vivo modeling establish that CEP162 deficiency causes retinal ciliopathy in humans.

scholarly journals KINETICS OF ROD OUTER SEGMENT RENEWAL IN THE DEVELOPING MOUSE RETINA

1973 ◽  
Vol 58 (3) ◽  
pp. 650-661 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew M. LaVail
Keyword(s):  
Outer Segment ◽  
Photoreceptor Cells ◽  
Mouse Retina ◽  
Rod Photoreceptor ◽  
Adult Level ◽  
Rod Outer Segment ◽  
Equilibrium Length ◽  
Kinetics Of ◽  
Late Stages ◽  
Adult Rate

The kinetics of rod outer segment renewal in the developing retina have been investigated in C57BL/6J mice. Litters of mice were injected with [3H]amino acids at various ages and killed at progressively later time intervals. Plastic 1.5 µm sections of retina were studied by light microscope autoradiography. The rate of outer segment disk synthesis, as judged by labeled disk displacement away from the site of synthesis, is slightly greater than the adult level at 11–13 days of age; it rises to more than 1.6 times the adult rate between days 13 and 17, after which it falls to the adult level at 21–25 days. The rate of disk disposal, as measured by labeled disk movement toward the site of disposal, is less than 15% of the adult level at 11–13 days of age; it rises sharply to almost 70% of the adult level by days 13–15 and then more gradually approaches the adult rate. The net difference in rates of synthesis and disposal accounts for the rapid elongation of rod outer segments in the mouse between days 11 and 17 and the subsequent, more gradual elongation to the adult equilibrium length reached between days 19 and 25. The changing rate of outer segment disk synthesis characterizes the late stages of cytodifferentiation of the rod photoreceptor cells.

The ageing photoreceptor

2007 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 151-155 ◽  
Author(s):  
ALEXANDER CUNEA ◽  
GLEN JEFFERY
Keyword(s):  
Aging Process ◽  
Outer Segment ◽  
Retinal Disease ◽  
Segment Length ◽  
Rod Photoreceptor ◽  
Retinal Neurons ◽  
Rod Photoreceptors ◽  
Outer Segments ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Similar Density

With age many retinal neurons are lost. In humans the rod photoreceptor population in the perimacular region is subject to approximately 30% loss over life. Those that remain have been reported to suffer from extensive convolutions and localized swellings of their outer segments abnormally increasing their disc content and outer segment length. Here we examine quantitatively age-related changes in rat rod photoreceptors. The rat retina is ∼97% rod dominated. Here, aged rods showed significant reductions in outer segment length. The discs in their outer segments had a similar density, irrespective of whether they were young or old, however, in aged animals a higher proportion were misregistered. Surprisingly, in all of the tissue examined, we found no evidence for any convolution of outer segments or localized swelling as reported in humans, rather all remained straight. There are methodological differences between the research reported here and that undertaken on human retinae. There are also major differences in overall retinal architecture between humans and rodents that could contribute to differences in the aging process of individual cells. If it is the case that individual photoreceptors age differently in rodents compared to humans, it may pose significant problems for the use of this animal model in studies of ageing and age related outer retinal disease.

scholarly journals Raman Spectroscopic Imaging of Cholesterol and Docosahexaenoic Acid Distribution in the Retinal Rod Outer Segment

2011 ◽  
Vol 64 (5) ◽  
pp. 611 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zachary D. Schultz
Keyword(s):  
Docosahexaenoic Acid ◽  
Outer Segment ◽  
Rana Catesbeiana ◽  
Spectroscopic Imaging ◽  
Photoreceptor Cells ◽  
Integral Membrane Protein ◽  
Rod Photoreceptor ◽  
Rod Outer Segment ◽  
Cellular Processes ◽  
Retinal Rod

Raman vibrational spectroscopic imaging was performed on retinal rod cells isolated from bullfrogs (Rana catesbeiana). The Raman spectra enable determination of the lipid and protein rich rod outer segment (ROS) from the nucleus and inner segment of the cell. Peak fitting analysis of spectra obtained from individual rod photoreceptor cells show characteristic vibrational modes that can be associated with cholesterol and docosahexaenoic acid-containing lipids. These results provide direct observations of biomolecular gradients in the rod photoreceptor cells, which, thus far, have been based on indirect detergent extracts and histochemical analysis with indicators such as filipin. The detected biomolecules are associated with regulation of the integral membrane protein rhodopsin, and methods capable of direct observation of these biomolecules offer new routes to exploring their role in the regulation of cellular processes.

scholarly journals Determinants shaping the nanoscale architecture of the mouse rod outer segment

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthias Pöge ◽  
Julia Mahamid ◽  
Sanae S Imanishi ◽  
Jürgen M Plitzko ◽  
Krzysztof Palczewski ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Outer Segment ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Structural Information ◽  
Structural Basis ◽  
Radius Of Curvature ◽  
Rod Photoreceptor ◽  
Molecular Architecture ◽  
Structural Determinants ◽  
Rod Outer Segment ◽  
Wide Range

The unique membrane organization of the rod outer segment (ROS), the specialized sensory cilium of rod photoreceptor cells, provides the foundation for phototransduction, the initial step in vision. ROS architecture is characterized by a stack of identically shaped and tightly packed membrane disks loaded with the visual receptor rhodopsin. A wide range of genetic aberrations compromise ROS ultrastructure, impairing photoreceptor viability and function. Yet, the structural basis giving rise to the remarkable long range order of ROS membrane stacks and the molecular mechanisms underlying genetically inherited diseases remain elusive. Here, cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET) performed on native ROS at molecular resolution provides insights into key structural determinants of ROS membrane architecture. Our data reveal the existence of two molecular connectors/spacers which likely contribute to the nanometer scale precise stacking of the ROS disks. We further show that the extreme radius of curvature at the disk rims is enforced by a continuous supramolecular assembly composed of peripherin-2 (PRPH2) and rod outer segment membrane protein 1 (ROM1) tetramers. We suggest that, together these molecular assemblies constitute the structural basis of the highly specialized ROS functional architecture. Cryo-ET therefore provides novel quantitative and structural information on the molecular architecture in ROS and insights into possible mechanisms underlying pathologies of certain PRPH2 mutations leading to blindness.

scholarly journals Determinants shaping the nanoscale architecture of the mouse rod outer segment

eLife ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthias Pöge ◽  
Julia Mahamid ◽  
Sanae S Imanishi ◽  
Jürgen M Plitzko ◽  
Krzysztof Palczewski ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Outer Segment ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Structural Information ◽  
Structural Basis ◽  
Radius Of Curvature ◽  
Rod Photoreceptor ◽  
Molecular Architecture ◽  
Structural Determinants ◽  
Rod Outer Segment ◽  
Wide Range

The unique membrane organization of the rod outer segment (ROS), the specialized sensory cilium of rod photoreceptor cells, provides the foundation for phototransduction, the initial step in vision. ROS architecture is characterized by a stack of identically shaped and tightly packed membrane disks loaded with the visual receptor rhodopsin. A wide range of genetic aberrations have been reported to compromise ROS ultrastructure, impairing photoreceptor viability and function. Yet, the structural basis giving rise to the remarkably precise arrangement of ROS membrane stacks and the molecular mechanisms underlying genetically inherited diseases remain elusive. Here, cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET) performed on native ROS at molecular resolution provides insights into key structural determinants of ROS membrane architecture. Our data confirm the existence of two previously observed molecular connectors/spacers which likely contribute to the nanometer-scale precise stacking of the ROS disks. We further provide evidence that the extreme radius of curvature at the disk rims is enforced by a continuous supramolecular assembly composed of peripherin-2 (PRPH2) and rod outer segment membrane protein 1 (ROM1) oligomers. We suggest that together these molecular assemblies constitute the structural basis of the highly specialized ROS functional architecture. Our Cryo-ET data provide novel quantitative and structural information on the molecular architecture in ROS and substantiate previous results on proposed mechanisms underlying pathologies of certain PRPH2 mutations leading to blindness.

The photoreceptor cytoskeleton and disk turnover

1992 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 482-483
Author(s):  
Dorothy J. Roof ◽  
Annmarie Hayes ◽  
Michael Adamian
Keyword(s):  
Outer Segment ◽  
Dynamic Balance ◽  
Adult Life ◽  
Rod Photoreceptor ◽  
Epithelial Layer ◽  
Rod Outer Segment ◽  
Pigment Epithelial ◽  
Total Length ◽  
Renewal Cycle

The light sensitive part of the rod photoreceptor, the outer segment, is continually renewed within the retinas of adult vertebrates. This process of membrane renewal consists of two distinct components, disk addition and disk shedding, which are maintained in a constant dynamic balance throughout adult life. Thus, although each rod outer segment loses approximately 10% of its length each day due to shedding and phagocytosis of rod tips by the adjacent pigment epithelial layer, the total length of the outer segment remains constant due to assembly of new disks at the base of the outer segment. The mechanisms of disk shedding and disk addition are, as yet, undefined although it appears that each phase of the overall disk renewal cycle may involve some cytoskeletal components.

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