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Vertebrate Retina (vertebrate + retina)
Selected AbstractsWhat drives cell morphogenesis: A look inside the vertebrate photoreceptorDEVELOPMENTAL DYNAMICS, Issue 9 2009Breandán Kennedy Abstract Vision mediating photoreceptor cells are specialized light-sensitive neurons in the outer layer of the vertebrate retina. The human retina contains approximately 130 million of such photoreceptors, which enable images of the external environment to be captured at high resolution and high sensitivity. Rod and cone photoreceptor subtypes are further specialized for sensing light in low and high illumination, respectively. To enable visual function, these photoreceptors have developed elaborate morphological domains for the detection of light (outer segments), for changing cell shape (inner segments), and for communication with neighboring retinal neurons (synaptic terminals). Furthermore, rod and cone subtypes feature unique morphological variations of these specialized characteristics. Here, we review the major aspects of vertebrate photoreceptor morphology and key genetic mechanisms that drive their formation. These mechanisms are necessary for cell differentiation as well as function. Their defects lead to cell death. Developmental Dynamics 238:2115,2138, 2009. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Proneural gene ash1 promotes amacrine cell production in the chick retinaDEVELOPMENTAL NEUROBIOLOGY, Issue 2-3 2009Weiming Mao Abstract The diverse types of neurons and Müller glia in the vertebrate retina are believed to arise from common progenitor cells. To better understand how neural diversity is achieved during retinal neurogenesis, we examined the function of ash1, a proneural bHLH gene expressed in progenitor cells throughout retinal neurogenesis. Published studies using retinal explant culture derived from knockout mice concluded that ash1 is required for the production of late-born neurons, including bipolar cells. In this study, gain-of-function experiments were carried out in ovo in embryonic chick retina. In the developing chick retina, expression of ash1 temporally overlapped with, but spatially differed from, the expression of ngn2, also a proneural gene expressed in progenitor cells throughout retinal neurogenesis. Retrovirus-driven overexpression of ash1 in the developing chick retina decreased the progenitor population (BrdU+ or expressing ngn2), expanded the amacrine population (AP2,+ or Pax6+), and reduced bipolar (chx10 mRNA+) and Müller glial (vimentin+) populations. Photoreceptor deficiency occurred after the completion of neurogenesis. The number of ganglion cells, which are born first during retinal neurogenesis, remained unchanged. Similar overexpression of ngn2 did not produce discernible changes in retinal neurogenesis, nor in ash1 expression. These results suggest that ash1 promotes the production of amacrine cells and thus may participate in a regulatory network governing neural diversity in the chick retina. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Develop Neurobiol, 2009 [source] The organisation of invertebrate brains: cells, synapses and circuitsACTA ZOOLOGICA, Issue 1 2010Ian A. Meinertzhagen Abstract Meinertzhagen, I.A. 2010. The organisation of invertebrate brains: cells, synapses and circuits. ,Acta Zoologica (Stockholm) 91: 64,71 Invertebrate brains are structurally diverse. Neuron numbers range from ,102 to 108 in different groups, compared with larger numbers in vertebrate brains, ,107 to 1014. The underpopulated brains of invertebrates are noted in their extreme cases for having few cells, and neurons that can be identified from animal to animal, many known in great detail. Although few in number, invertebrate neurons nevertheless comprise many classes. Correlated with the paucity of their number they are sparsely connected, many having ,50 synapses or fewer. Synaptic densities, roughly 1 per ,m3 of neuropile, differ little from those for much larger vertebrate neurons. Invertebrate neurons differ from their vertebrate counterparts in the position of their soma, generally in a cortex surrounding the neuropile that consequently occupies a relatively small volume. Their axons typically lack myelin and, supporting a range of conduction velocities, have diameters that differ over a wide range, from 103 to 10,1,m. Nerves with thousands of axons differ from neuropile fascicles, which typically have 20 or less. Unlike most vertebrate synapses, but like those of the vertebrate retina, synapses in many invertebrate groups , probably all ecdysozoans and possibly some lophotrochozoans , have synaptic contacts with multiple postsynaptic elements, dyads, triads and so on. [source] The orientation and dynamics of cell division within the plane of the developing vertebrate retinaEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE, Issue 3 2004Marc S. Tibber Abstract The orientation of a dividing cell within the plane of the tissue plays an essential role in regulating cell fate in a range of developing structures. To assess its potential role in the developing vertebrate retina we used standard confocal microscopy of fixed tissue and time-lapse confocal imaging of living tissue to examine the orientation of cell division and mitotic spindle rotation within the plane of the retinal neuroepithelium. Based on the study of three rat strains and chick, we report in contrast to recent findings that during the main phase of cell production (E18,P4 in the rat and E6,E11 in the chick) dividing cells are randomly orientated with respect to key anatomical landmarks as well as the orientation of their dividing neighbours. Results from live imaging of neonatal rat retinae support these findings and suggest that unlike the developing cortex, in which metaphase plates often rotate extensively before coming to rest in anaphase, retinal mitotic spindle rotations prior to cell division are minimal. Furthermore, the orientation of metaphase entry largely defines that which is finally adopted during anaphase. Hence, the dynamics of metaphase progression through to anaphase in the retina appear to differ markedly from the brain, and cell divisions within the plane of the tissue are randomly orientated. These results contribute to a growing body of evidence that suggests that the current paradigm with respect to asymmetric division derived from the study of invertebrates cannot be generalized to the developing vertebrate nervous system. [source] Expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein and glutamine synthetase by Müller cells after optic nerve damage and intravitreal application of brain-derived neurotrophic factorGLIA, Issue 2 2002Hao Chen Abstract Müller glia play an important role in maintaining retinal homeostasis, and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) has proven to be an effective retinal ganglion cell (RGC) neuroprotectant following optic nerve injury. The goal of these studies was to investigate the relation between optic nerve injury and Müller cell activation, and to determine the extent to which BDNF affects the injury response of Müller cells. Using immunocytochemistry and Western blot analysis, temporal changes in the expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and glutamine synthetase (GS) were examined in rats after optic nerve crush alone, or in conjunction with an intravitreal injection of BDNF (5 ,g). GFAP protein levels were normal at 1 day post-crush, but increased ,9-fold by day 3 and remained elevated over the 2-week period studied. Müller cell GS expression remained stable after optic nerve crush, but the protein showed a transient shift in its cellular distribution; during the initial 24-h period post-crush the GS protein appeared to translocate from the cell body to the inner and outer glial processes, and particularly to the basal endfeet located in the ganglion cell layer. BDNF alone, or in combination with optic nerve crush, did not have a significant effect on the expression of either GFAP or GS compared with the normal retina, or after optic nerve crush alone, respectively. The data indicate that although BDNF is a potent neuroprotectant in the vertebrate retina, it does not appear to have a significant influence on Müller cell expression of either GS or GFAP in response to optic nerve injury. GLIA 38:115,125, 2002. © 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] The role of early neural activity in the maturation of turtle retinal functionJOURNAL OF ANATOMY, Issue 4 2001EVELYNE SERNAGOR In the developing vertebrate retina, ganglion cells fire spontaneous bursts of action potentials long before the eye becomes exposed to sensory experience at birth. These early bursts are synchronised between neighbouring retinal ganglion cells (RGCs), yielding unique spatiotemporal patterns: ,waves' of activity sweep across large retinal areas every few minutes. Both at retinal and extraretinal levels, these embryonic retinal waves are believed to guide the wiring of the visual system using hebbian mechanisms of synaptic strengthening. In the first part of this review, we recapitulate the evidence for a role of these embryonic spontaneous bursts of activity in shaping developing complex receptive field properties of RGCs in the turtle embryonic retina. We also discuss the role of visual experience in establishing RGC visual functions, and how spontaneous activity and visual experience interact to bring developing receptive fields to maturation. We have hypothesised that the physiological changes associated with development reflect modifications in the dendritic arbours of RGCs, the anatomical substrate of their receptive fields. We demonstrate that there is a temporal correlation between the period of receptive field expansion and that of dendritic growth. Moreover, the immature spontaneous activity contributes to dendritic growth in developing RGCs. Intracellular staining of RGCs reveals, however, that immature receptive fields only rarely show direct correlation with the layout of the corresponding dendritic tree. To investigate the possibility that not only the presence of the spontaneous activity, but even the precise spatiotemporal patterns encoded in retinal waves might contribute to the refinement of retinal neural circuitry, first we must clarify the mechanisms mediating the generation and propagation of these waves across development. In the second part of this review, we present evidence that turtle retinal waves, visualised using calcium imaging, exhibit profound changes in their spatiotemporal patterns during development. From fast waves sweeping across large retinal areas and recruiting many cells on their trajectory at early stages, waves become slower and eventually stop propagating towards hatching, when they become stationary patches of neighbouring coactive RGCs. A developmental switch from excitatory to inhibitory GABAA responses appears to mediate the modification in spontaneous activity patterns while the retina develops. Future chronic studies using specific spatiotemporal alterations of the waves will shed a new light on how the wave dynamics help in sculpting retinal receptive fields. [source] Alpha-retinals as Rhodopsin Chromophores,Preference for the 9- Z Configuration and Partial Agonist Activity,PHOTOCHEMISTRY & PHOTOBIOLOGY, Issue 4 2008Yajie Wang The visual pigment rhodopsin, the photosensory element of the rod photoreceptor cell in the vertebrate retina, shows in combination with an endogenous ligand, 11- Z retinal, an astonishing photochemical performance. It exhibits an unprecedented quantum yield (0.67) in a highly defined and ultrafast photoisomerization process. This triggers the conformational changes leading to the active state Meta(rhodopsin) II. Retinal is covalently bound to Lys-296 of the protein opsin in a protonated Schiff base. The resulting positive charge delocalization over the terminal part of the polyene chain of retinal creates a conjugation defect that upon photoexcitation moves to the opposite end of the polyene. Shortening the polyene as in 4,5-dehydro,5,6-dihydro (alpha), 5,6-dihydro or 7,8-dihydro-analogs might facilitate photoisomerization of a 9- Z and a 11- Z bond. Here we describe pigment analogs generated with bovine opsin and 11- Z or 9- Z 4,5-dehydro,5,6-dihydro-retinal that were further characterized by UV,Vis and FTIR spectroscopy. The preference of opsin for native 11- Z retinal over the 9- Z isomer is reversed in 4,5-dehydro,5,6-dihydro-retinal. 9- Z 4,5-dehydro,5,6-dihydro-retinal readily generated a photosensitive pigment. This modification has no effect on the quantum yield, but affects the Batho,blueshifted intermediate (BSI) equilibrium and leads to a strong decrease in the G-protein activation rate because of a downshift of the pKa of the Meta I,Meta II equilibrium. [source] Antagonists of ionotropic ,-aminobutyric acid receptors impair the NiCl2 -mediated stimulation of the electroretinogram b-wave amplitude from the isolated superfused vertebrate retinaACTA OPHTHALMOLOGICA, Issue 8 2009Siarhei A Siapich Abstract. Purpose:, NiCl2 (15 ,M) stimulates the electroretinogram (ERG) b-wave amplitude of vertebrate retina up to 1.5-fold through its blocking of E/R-type voltage-gated Ca2+ channels. Assuming that such an increase is mediated by blocking the release of the inhibitory neurotransmitter ,-aminobutyric acid (GABA) via ionotropic GABA receptors, we tested the effect of both GABA itself and GABA-receptor antagonists such as (,)bicuculline (1.51-fold increase) and (1,2,5,6-tetrahydropyridin-4-yl)methylphosphinic acid (TPMPA; 1.46-fold increase) on the b-wave amplitude. Methods:, Recording of the transretinal potentials from the isolated bovine retina. Results:, GABA (100 ,M) reduced the b-wave amplitude only when NiCl2 (15 ,M) was applied first. Each antagonist applied on its own stimulated the b-wave amplitude only partially: subsequent NiCl2 superfusion caused a small but additional increase, leading to a 1.69- and a 1.88-fold total increase of the amplitude by Ni2+ plus (,)bicuculline or Ni2+ plus TPMPA, respectively. Only the application of both antagonists in combination, before superfusing low NiCl2 (15 ,M), completely prevented subsequent stimulation by NiCl2 with a similar 1.90-fold total increase of b-wave amplitude. Those retina segments that did not respond to NiCl2 could not be stimulated by (,)bicuculline and vice versa. Conclusion:, The stimulatory effect of NiCl2 on the ERG b-wave amplitude is mainly, but not only, mediated by a NiCl2 -sensitive, Cav2.3-triggered GABA release acting through ionotropic GABA-A and GABA-C receptors. [source] Effects of (-)bicuculline and gamma-aminobutyric acid on the NiCl2 mediated stimulation of the ERG b-wave amplitude from the isolated superfused vertebrate retinaACTA OPHTHALMOLOGICA, Issue 2007T SCHNEIDER Purpose: NiCl2 (15 ,M) stimulates the b-wave amplitude of vertebrate retina, up to 1.5-fold through its blocking of E/R-type voltage-gated Ca2+ channels. Assuming that these channels may trigger the release of the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA, we tested the effect of (-)bicuculline and GABA itself. Methods: We have used a superfused vertebrate retina assay, testing retina from bovine (Lüke et al., 2005: Brain Res Brain Res Protoc 16 : 27-36). The retina was separated from the underlying pigment epithelium and mounted on a mesh occupying the center of the perfusing chamber. The electroretinogram was recorded in the surrounding nutrient medium via two silver/silver-chloride electrodes on either side of the retina. The recording chamber containing a piece of retina was placed in an electrically and optically insulated air thermostat. The retina was dark-adapted and the electroretinogram was elicited at intervals of five min using a single white flash for stimulation. Results: (-)Bicuculline increased the b-wave amplitude to a similar extent as observed in parallel recordings for low NiCl2 (15 ,M). The GABA effect was biphasic, and let to a transient stimulation after NiCl2 application. Those retina segments which did not respond to NiCl2 (15 ,M), also could not be stimulated by bicuculline and vice versa. Conclusions: The stimulatory effect of NiCl2 on the ERG b-wave amplitude is mediated by a NiCl2-sensitive, probably Cav2.3 / voltage-gated Ca2+-channel triggered GABA-release, and GABA itself may act on at least two different receptors. [source] | ||||||||||