scholarly journals Effect of retinal ablation on the expression of calbindin D28k and GABA in the chick optic tectum

10.4081/848 ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 47 (4) ◽  
pp. 365 ◽  
Author(s):  
G Díaz de Barboza ◽  
C Beltramino ◽  
L Britto ◽  
J De Olmos ◽  
S De Olmos

The effect of retinal ablation on qualitative and quantitative changes of calbindin D28k and GABA expression in the contralateral optic tectum was studied in young chicks. Fifteen days old chicks had unilateral retinal ablation and after 7 or 15 days, calbindin expression was analyzed by Western blot and immunocytochemistry. Neuronal degeneration was followed by the amino-cupric silver technique. After 15 days, retinal lesions produced a significant decrease in calbindin immunostaining in the neuropil of layers 5-6 and in the somata of neurons from the layers 8 and 10 of the contralateral tectum, being this effect less marked at 7 days post-lesion. Double staining revealed that 50-60% of cells in the layers 8 and 10 were calbindin and GABA positive, 30- 45% were only calbindin positive and 5-10% were only GABAergic neurons. Retinal ablation also produced a decrease in the GABA expression at either 7 or 15 days after surgery. At 7 days, dense silver staining was observed in the layers 5-6 from the optic tectum contralateral to the retinal ablation, which mainly represented neuropil that would come from processes of retinal ganglion cells. Tectal neuronal bodies were not stained with silver, although some neurons were surrounded by coarse granular silver deposits. In conclusion, most of calbindin molecules are present in neurons of the tectal GABAergic inhibitory circuitry, whose functioning apparently depends on the integrity of the visual input. A possible role of calbindin in the control of intracellular Ca2+ in neurons of this circuit when the visual transmission arrives to the optic tectum remains to be studied.

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Barakat Alrashdi ◽  
Bassel Dawod ◽  
Andrea Schampel ◽  
Sabine Tacke ◽  
Stefanie Kuerten ◽  
...  

Abstract Background In multiple sclerosis (MS) and in the experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) model of MS, the Nav1.6 voltage-gated sodium (Nav) channel isoform has been implicated as a primary contributor to axonal degeneration. Following demyelination Nav1.6, which is normally co-localized with the Na+/Ca2+ exchanger (NCX) at the nodes of Ranvier, associates with β-APP, a marker of neural injury. The persistent influx of sodium through Nav1.6 is believed to reverse the function of NCX, resulting in an increased influx of damaging Ca2+ ions. However, direct evidence for the role of Nav1.6 in axonal degeneration is lacking. Methods In mice floxed for Scn8a, the gene that encodes the α subunit of Nav1.6, subjected to EAE we examined the effect of eliminating Nav1.6 from retinal ganglion cells (RGC) in one eye using an AAV vector harboring Cre and GFP, while using the contralateral either injected with AAV vector harboring GFP alone or non-targeted eye as control. Results In retinas, the expression of Rbpms, a marker for retinal ganglion cells, was found to be inversely correlated to the expression of Scn8a. Furthermore, the gene expression of the pro-inflammatory cytokines Il6 (IL-6) and Ifng (IFN-γ), and of the reactive gliosis marker Gfap (GFAP) were found to be reduced in targeted retinas. Optic nerves from targeted eyes were shown to have reduced macrophage infiltration and improved axonal health. Conclusion Taken together, our results are consistent with Nav1.6 promoting inflammation and contributing to axonal degeneration following demyelination.


1988 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-81 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rodrigo O. Kuljis ◽  
Harvey J. Karten

AbstractRecent immunocytochemical studies indicate the existence of several classes of peptide- (PRGC) and catecholamine-containing retinal ganglion cells in anurans, birds, and mammals. Different classes of PRGC project to discrete and seemingly unique layers in the retino-recipient portion of the anuran and avian optic tectum. Peptide-containing retinofugal projections to the frog tectum originate early in development, and are reestablished by some classes of PRGC during regeneration of the optic nerve. These findings indicate that chemically specific, parallel retinofugal pathways presumably subserve different functional aspects of vision in vertebrates. Exciting prospects for research include the correlation of physiologically with immunocytochemically defined classes of retinal ganglion cells, the analysis of the possible role of neuroactive peptides in retinofugal transmission, and the pharmacological manipulation of putative peptidergic retinofugal pathways to analyze their role in visual function.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
Author(s):  
Olivia J. Marola ◽  
Stephanie B. Syc-Mazurek ◽  
Gareth R. Howell ◽  
Richard T. Libby

Abstract Glaucoma is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by loss of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs), the output neurons of the retina. Multiple lines of evidence show the endothelin (EDN, also known as ET) system is important in glaucomatous neurodegeneration. To date, the molecular mechanisms within RGCs driving EDN-induced RGC death have not been clarified. The pro-apoptotic transcription factor JUN (the canonical target of JNK signaling) and the endoplasmic reticulum stress effector and transcription factor DNA damage inducible transcript 3 (DDIT3, also known as CHOP) have been shown to act downstream of EDN receptors. Previous studies demonstrated that JUN and DDIT3 were important regulators of RGC death after glaucoma-relevant injures. Here, we characterized EDN insult in vivo and investigated the role of JUN and DDIT3 in EDN-induced RGC death. To accomplish this, EDN1 ligand was intravitreally injected into the eyes of wildtype, Six3-cre+Junfl/fl (Jun−/−), Ddit3 null (Ddit3−/−), and Ddit3−/−Jun−/− mice. Intravitreal EDN1 was sufficient to drive RGC death in vivo. EDN1 insult caused JUN activation in RGCs, and deletion of Jun from the neural retina attenuated RGC death after EDN insult. However, deletion of Ddit3 did not confer significant protection to RGCs after EDN1 insult. These results indicate that EDN caused RGC death via a JUN-dependent mechanism. In addition, EDN signaling is known to elicit potent vasoconstriction. JUN signaling was shown to drive neuronal death after ischemic insult. Therefore, the effects of intravitreal EDN1 on retinal vessel diameter and hypoxia were explored. Intravitreal EDN1 caused transient retinal vasoconstriction and regions of RGC and Müller glia hypoxia. Thus, it remains a possibility that EDN elicits a hypoxic insult to RGCs, causing apoptosis via JNK-JUN signaling. The importance of EDN-induced vasoconstriction and hypoxia in causing RGC death after EDN insult and in models of glaucoma requires further investigation.


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.


Development ◽  
1994 ◽  
Vol 120 (6) ◽  
pp. 1643-1649 ◽  
Author(s):  
K.H. Herzog ◽  
K. Bailey ◽  
Y.A. Barde

Using a sensitive and quantitative method, the mRNA levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) were determined during the development of the chick visual system. Low copy numbers were detected, and BDNF was found to be expressed in the optic tectum already 2 days before the arrival of the first retinal ganglion cell axons, suggesting an early role of BDNF in tectal development. After the beginning of tectal innervation, BDNF mRNA levels markedly increased, and optic stalk transection at day 4 (which prevents subsequent tectal innervation) was found to reduce the contralateral tectal levels of BDNF mRNA. Comparable reductions were obtained after injection of tetrodotoxin into one eye, indicating that, already during the earliest stages of target encounter in the CNS, the degree of BDNF gene expression is influenced by activity-dependent mechanisms. BDNF mRNA was also detected in the retina itself and at levels comparable to those found in the tectum. Together with previous findings indicating that BDNF prevents the death of cultured chick retinal ganglion cells, these results support the idea that the tightly controlled expression of the BDNF gene might be important in the co-ordinated development of the visual system.


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.


Development ◽  
1989 ◽  
Vol 107 (2) ◽  
pp. 381-387 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Cohen ◽  
V. Nurcombe ◽  
P. Jeffrey ◽  
D. Edgar

The ability of chick retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) to extend neurites on tissue culture substrata of the extra-cellular matrix protein laminin is lost during embryonic development. In order to establish the mechanism responsible for the loss of response, the number of high affinity (KD 10(−9) M) laminin receptors on both the cell bodies and neurites of RGCs were determined throughout this period by a ligand binding assay using radio-labelled laminin. It was found that the loss of response paralleled a decrease in receptor numbers on both the cell bodies and the neurites of the RGCs. Bilateral tectal ablation at embryonic day 6 resulted in the subsequent maintenance of laminin-stimulated neurite outgrowth, together with a partial inhibition of the loss of laminin receptors. Thus, the loss of response of the RGCs to laminin reflects a decrease in the numbers of laminin receptors on these neurons, and furthermore, this down-regulation is in turn dependent on innervation of the target tissue.


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