scholarly journals Trilogy Development of Proopiomelanocortin Neurons From Embryonic to Adult Stages in the Mice Retina

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xuhong Zhang ◽  
Xiaoyu Wang ◽  
Senjie Wang ◽  
Wei Peng ◽  
Rahim Ullah ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plexiform Layer ◽  
Amacrine Cells ◽  
Cell Number ◽  
Embryonic Stage ◽  
Inner Plexiform Layer ◽  
Topographic Map ◽  
Neuron Development ◽  
Soma Size ◽  
A Cell ◽  
Steep Decline

Proopiomelanocortin-positive amacrine cells (POMC ACs) were first discovered in adult mouse retinas in 2010; however, the development of POMC-ACs has not been studied. We bred POMC-EGFP mice to label POMC-positive cells and investigated the development of POMC neurons from embryonic to adult stages. We found that POMC neuron development is mainly divided into three stages: the embryonic stage, the closed-eye stage, and the open-eye stage. Each stage has unique characteristics. In the embryonic stage, POMC neurons appeared in the retina at about E13. There was a cell number developmental peak at E15, followed by a steep decline at E16. POMC neurons showed a large soma and increased spine numbers at the closed-eye stage, and two dendritic sublaminas formed in the inner plexiform layer (IPL). The appearance and increased soma size and dendrite numbers did not occur continuously in space. We found that the soma number was asymmetric between the superior and inferior retinas according to the developmental topographic map. Density peaked in the superior retina, which existed persistently in the retinal ganglion cell layer (GCL), but disappeared from the inner nuclear layer (INL) at about P6. At the same time, the soma distribution in the INL was the most regular. At the open-eye stage, the development of POMC neurons was nearly stable only with only an increase in the IPL width, which increased the soma–dendrite distance.

Association amacrine cells of Ramón y Cajal: Rediscovery and reinterpretation

2005 ◽  
Vol 22 (6) ◽  
pp. 881-891 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. UCHIYAMA ◽  
W.K. STELL
Keyword(s):  
Amacrine Cell ◽  
Plexiform Layer ◽  
Amacrine Cells ◽  
Distinct Type ◽  
Golgi Method ◽  
Target Cells ◽  
Inner Plexiform Layer ◽  
Cell Level ◽  
A Cell ◽  
Ramón Y Cajal

In 1895, by means of the Golgi method, Santiago Ramón y Cajal discovered a cell having a unique morphology in the avian retina. This cell had its cell body in the amacrine cell level of the inner nuclear layer, only a few rudimentary dendrites at the outermost level of the inner plexiform layer (IPL), and a long axon coursing horizontally and terminating in the IPL. Despite having defined amacrine cells as cells without axons, Cajal named this cell type “association amacrine cell” (AAC). This discovery was not confirmed by other investigators for nearly a century. Very recently, however, isthmo-optic target cells (IOTCs), which receive the terminals of centrifugal fibers emanating from the isthmo-optic nucleus, have been identified as one type of AAC. As summarized and discussed in this review, the morphology of the AACs as described by Cajal has been completely confirmed. However, since these cells appear to be classical polarized, monoaxonal neurons and lack the dendritic interactions that are typical of amacrine cells, they should be regarded as a distinct type of retinal interneuron and not as amacrine cells.

Distribution of cholinergic amacrine cells in the retinas of normally pigmented and hypopigmented strains of rat and cat

1988 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 367-376 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Mitrofanis ◽  
Jonathan Stone
Keyword(s):  
Ganglion Cell ◽  
Plexiform Layer ◽  
Amacrine Cells ◽  
Inner Plexiform Layer ◽  
Choline Acetyl Transferase ◽  
Size Number ◽  
Area Centralis ◽  
Soma Size ◽  
The Common ◽  
Cholinergic Amacrine Cells

AbstractWe have examined the soma size, number, and distribution of cholinergic amacrine cells in the retinas of albino and pigmented rats and of Siamese and common cats, using an antibody against choline acetyl transferase (ChAT). In the pigmented strains of rat and cat, ChAT-immunoreactive (ChAT-IR) somata were located in both the inner part of the inner nuclear layer (INL) and ganglion cell layer (GCL), and their processes spread in distinct strata of the inner plexiform layer (IPL). The diameters of the somata in the INL and GCL did not differ significantly at any retinal location. Furthermore, soma diameter did not vary with eccentricity, except at the area centralis of the common cat, where ChAT-IR somata in both layers were relatively smaller. In both species, ChAT-IR somata in the GCL outnumbered those in the INL at all retinal locations. Both populations of cells tended to concentrate at the area of peak ganglion cell density and along the visual streak. Additionally, areas of relatively high density extended superiorly from the area of peak density. The same features of morphology and distribution were identifiable in the hypopigmented strains of rat and cat, but the numbers of ChAT-IR cells were consistently higher.

Multiple cell targets for melatonin action in Xenopus laevis retina: Distribution of melatonin receptor immunoreactivity

2001 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  
pp. 695-702 ◽  
Author(s):  
ALLAN F. WIECHMANN ◽  
CELESTE R. WIRSIG-WIECHMANN
Keyword(s):  
Xenopus Laevis ◽  
Direct Action ◽  
Pigment Epithelium ◽  
Retinal Pigment ◽  
Plexiform Layer ◽  
Amacrine Cells ◽  
Receptor Protein ◽  
Inner Plexiform Layer ◽  
Melatonin Receptor ◽  
Multiple Cell

In the retina of the African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis), melatonin is synthesized by the photoreceptors at night, and binds to receptors that likely mediate paracrine responses. Melatonin appears to alter the sensitivity of the retinal cells to light, and may play a key role in regulating important circadian events that occur in the eye. A polyclonal antibody was raised against a 13 amino acid peptide corresponding to a region of the third cytoplasmic loop of the Xenopus laevis Mel1c melatonin receptor. Western blot analysis revealed a major immunoreactive band of approximately 60 kD in neural retina and retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) membranes. Immunocytochemical labeling of sections of Xenopus eyes demonstrated intense melatonin receptor-like immunoreactivity in the inner plexiform layer (IPL). Immunolabeling with antibodies to glutamate decarboxylase (GAD) or tyrosine hydroxylase (TOH) appeared to co-localize with the melatonin receptor immunoreactivity in different sublaminas of the IPL. This suggests that both GABAergic and dopaminergic amacrine cells express melatonin receptor protein. There were also some melatonin receptor immunoreactive varicose fibers in the IPL that did not co-localize with either TOH or GAD, and may represent efferent fibers, since they could be followed into the optic nerve. Melatonin receptor immunoreactivity was also present on cell soma in the ganglion cell layer. Furthermore, a moderate level of melatonin receptor immunoreactivity was observed in the RPE and rod and cone photoreceptor cells. The presence of melatonin receptor immunoreactivity in these cells supports previous observations of melatonin receptor RNA expression in multiple cell types in the Xenopus retina. Expression of melatonin receptor protein in the photoreceptors suggests that melatonin may have a direct action on these cells.

Membrane currents evoked by ionotropic glutamate receptor agonists in rod bipolar cells in the rat retinal slice preparation

1996 ◽  
Vol 76 (1) ◽  
pp. 401-422 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Hartveit
Keyword(s):  
Nmda Receptor ◽  
Plexiform Layer ◽  
Amacrine Cells ◽  
Bipolar Cells ◽  
Inner Plexiform Layer ◽  
Receptor Agonists ◽  
Long Latency ◽  
Glutamate Receptor Agonists ◽  
Conductance Increase ◽  
Rod Bipolar Cells

1. With the use of the whole cell voltage-clamp technique, I have recorded the current responses to ionotropic glutamate receptor agonists of rod bipolar cells in vertical slices of rat retina. Rod bipolar cells constitute a single population of cells and were visualized by infrared differential interference contrast video microscopy. They were targeted by the position of their cell bodies in the inner nuclear layer and, after recording, were visualized in their entirety by labeling with the fluorescent dye Lucifer yellow, which was included in the recording pipette. To study current-voltage relationships of evoked currents, voltage-gated potassium currents were blocked by including Cs+ and tetraethylammonium+ in the recording pipette. 2. Pressure application of the non-N-methyl-D-aspartate (non-NMDA) receptor agonists kainate and (S)-alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA) from puffer pipettes evoked a long-latency conductance increase selective for chloride ions. When the intracellular chloride concentration was increased, the reversal potential changed, corresponding to the change in equilibrium potential for chloride. The response was evoked in the presence of 5 mM Co2+ and nominally O mM Ca2+ in the extracellular solution, presumably blocking all external Ca2(+)-dependent release of neurotransmitter. 3. The long latency of kainate-evoked currents in bipolar cells contrasted with the short-latency currents evoked by gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and glycine in rod bipolar cells and by kainate in amacrine cells. 4. Application of NMDA evoked no response in rod bipolar cells. 5. Coapplication of AMPA with cyclothiazide, a blocker of agonist-evoked desensitization of AMPA receptors, enhanced the conductance increase compared with application of AMPA alone. Coapplication of the non-NMDA receptor antagonist 6-cyano-7-nitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione blocked the response to kainate and AMPA, indicating that the response was mediated by conventional ionotropic glutamate receptors. 6. The conductance increase evoked by non-NMDA receptor agonists could not be blocked by a combination of 100 microM picrotoxin and 10 microM strychnine. Application of the GABAC receptor antagonist 3-aminopropyl (methyl)phosphinic acid (3-APMPA) strongly reduced the response, and coapplication of 500 microM 3-APMPA and 100 microM picrotoxin completely blocked the response. These results suggested that the conductance increase evoked by non-NMDA receptor agonists was mediated by release of GABA and activation of GABAC receptors, and most likely also GABAA receptors, on rod bipolar cells. 7. Kainate responses like those described above could not be evoked in bipolar cells in which the axon had been cut somewhere along its passage to the inner plexiform layer during the slicing procedure. This suggests that the response was dependent on the integrity of the axon terminal in the inner plexiform layer, known to receive GABAergic synaptic input from amacrine cells. 8. The results indicate that ionotropic glutamate receptors are not involved in mediating synaptic input from photoreceptors to rod bipolar cells and that an unconventional mechanism of GABA release from amacrine cells might operate in the inner plexiform layer.

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.

Multiple subtypes of glycine-immunoreactive neurons in the goldfish retina: Single- and double-label studies

1990 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 299-309 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Yazulla ◽  
Keith M. Studholme
Keyword(s):  
Substance P ◽  
Visual Information ◽  
Plexiform Layer ◽  
Amacrine Cells ◽  
Inner Plexiform Layer ◽  
Double Labeling ◽  
Light Microscopical Level ◽  
Double Label ◽  
Dendritic Stratification ◽  
Goldfish Retina

AbstractThe glycinergic system in goldfish retina was studied by immunocytochemical localization of glycine antiserum at the light-microscopical level. Numerous amacrine cells, a type of interplexiform cell, interstitial cell, and displaced amacrine cell were glycine-immunoreactive (IR). Amacrine cells, accounting for 97% of the glycine-IR neurons, were of four types based solely on their level of dendritic stratification: stratified amacrine cells of the first, third, and fifth sublayers and bistratified amacrine cells of the first and fifth sublayers. Double-labeling experiments were carried out to determine possible co-localization of glycine-IR with GABA-IR, serotonin-IR, substance P-IR and somatostatin-IR. No evidence for co-localization of glycine-IR with these other transmitter substances was found, despite reports of co-localization of these substances in retinas of other species. Glycinergic neurons in goldfish retina appear to consist of a heterogeneous population of at least seven morphologically distinct subtypes that are also neurochemically distinct in regard to GABA, serotonin, substance P, and somatostatin. Since dendritic stratification in the inner plexiform layer is correlated with ON-, OFF-response types, we suggest that the subtypes of glycine-IR amacrine cells play different roles in the encoding of visual information.

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