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Run-up of gamma-aminobutyric acid(C) responses in catfish retinal cone-horizontal cell axon-terminals is modulated by protein kinase A and C.

Using whole-cell voltage-clamp techniques, we investigated the protein kinase modulation of gamma-aminobutyric acid(C) (GABA(C))-activated currents relating to run-up regulation in dissociated cone-horizontal cell (HC) axon-terminals from catfish retina. GABA induced an inward chloride current in cells voltage-clamped at -70 mV. With repetitive applications of 10 microM GABA, the peaks of the GABA responses increased up to approximately 135% of the control responses during a period of 10 min. Intracellular application of forskolin, an adenylate cyclase activator, decreased the run-up of GABA(C) responses. H8 dihydrochloride, a cAMP inhibitor, enhanced this run-up to 190% of the control responses. 1-oleoyl-2-acetyl-sn-glycerol, a protein kinase C activator, accelerated the run-up of GABA(C) responses. GF 109203X, a PKC inhibitor, decreased the run-up. These results suggest that retinal GABA(C) responses in cone-HC axon-terminals are modulated by both protein kinase A and C.

Adenylyl Cyclases↗

Modulation of synaptic transfer between retinal cones and horizontal cells by spatial contrast.

We studied the influence of steady annular light on the kinetics and sensitivity of horizontal cell (HC) responses to modulation of the intensity of small concentric spots in the turtle retina. As shown by previous investigators, when the intensity of the annulus was equal to the mean spot intensity, spot response kinetics were the same as those for the modulation of spatially uniform light. Turning off the annulus attenuated dramatically high-frequency flicker sensitivity and enhanced somewhat low-frequency sensitivity. This phenomenon reflects a modulation of synaptic transfer between cones and second-order neurons that is mediated by cones, and it will be referred to as cone-mediated surround enhancement (CMSE). Our main results are as follows: (a) The change in test-spot response sensitivity and kinetics upon dimming a steady surrounding annulus is a consequence of the change in spatial contrast rather than change in overall light level. (b) Introduction of moderate contrast between the mean spot intensity and steady surrounding light intensity causes a marked change in spot response kinetics. (c) The dependence of spot response kinetics on surrounding light can be described by a phenomenological model in which the steady state gain and the time constant of one or two single-stage, low-pass filters increase with decreasing annular light intensity (d) The effect of surrounding light on spot responses of a given HC is not determined by change in the steady component of the membrane potential of that cell. (e) Light outside the receptive field of an HC can affect that cell's spot response kinetics. (f) In an expanding annulus experiment, the distance over which steady annular light affects spot response kinetics varies among HCs and can be quite different even between two cells with closely matched receptive field sizes. (g) The degree of CMSE is correlated with HC receptive field size. This correlation suggests that part of the enhancement mechanism is located in the HC. Taken together, our results suggest the involvement of the inner retina in CMSE.

Animals↗

Retinal organization in the retinal degeneration 10 (rd10) mutant mouse: a morphological and ERG study.

Retinal degeneration 10 (rd10) mice are a model of autosomal recessive retinitis pigmentosa (RP), identified by Chang et al. in 2002 (Vision Res. 42:517-525). These mice carry a spontaneous mutation of the rod-phosphodiesterase (PDE) gene, leading to a rod degeneration that starts around P18. Later, cones are also lost. Because photoreceptor degeneration does not overlap with retinal development, and light responses can be recorded for about a month after birth, rd10 mice mimic typical human RP more closely than the well-known rd1 mutants. The aim of this study is to provide a comprehensive analysis of the morphology and function of the rd10 mouse retina during the period of maximum photoreceptor degeneration, thus contributing useful data for exploiting this novel model to study RP. We analyzed the morphology and survival of retinal cells in rd10 mice of various ages with quantitative immunocytochemistry and confocal microscopy; we also studied retinal function with the electroretinogram (ERG), recorded between P18 and P30. We found that photoreceptor death (peaking around P25) is accompanied and followed by dendritic retraction in bipolar and horizontal cells, which eventually undergo secondary degeneration. ERG reveals alterations in the physiology of the inner retina as early as P18 (before any obvious morphological change of inner neurons) and yet consistently with a reduced band amplification by bipolar cells. Thus, changes in the rd10 retina are very similar to what was previously found in rd1 mutants. However, an overall slower decay of retinal structure and function predicts that rd10 mice might become excellent models for rescue approaches.

Animals↗

Horizontal cells of the rabbit retina: some quantitative properties revealed by selective staining.

Horizontal cells of the rabbit retina were selectively stained by demonstration of beta-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase activity. Thereafter, the size of the cell bodies, the distance between neighbouring cells, and the number of cells per mm2 were measured. In the area centralis, the horizontal cell bodies occupy only 4.2% of the total retinal area; in the far periphery, however, 12.8% of the retinal area consist of horizontal cell bodies. Furthermore, the horizontal cells of the retinal periphery have much larger cell bodies as compared with those of the retinal center. The far periphery, for these reasons, is concluded to be the optimal region for intracellular microelectrode recordings from rabbit retinal horizontal cells.

Animals↗

Abnormalities in rod photoreceptors, amacrine cells, and horizontal cells in human retinas with retinitis pigmentosa.

PURPOSE: To evaluate changes in the rods and amacrine cells and horizontal cells in human retinas with retinitis pigmentosa. METHODS: Seven retinas from patient donors with retinitis pigmentosa and 14 age- and postmortem-matched normal human retinas were processed for immunocytochemistry and confocal microscopy. The following cell-specific antibodies were used: anti-rhodopsin (rods), anti-gamma-aminobutyric acid (amacrine cells), anticalbindin (cones and horizontal cells), anti-glial fibrillary acidic protein (astrocytes and reactive Müller cells), and anti-synaptophysin and anti-SV2 (synaptic vesicles). RESULTS: In retinal regions with significant photoreceptor loss, the rods, gamma-aminobutyric acid-positive amacrine cells, and calbindin-positive horizontal cells had undergone neurite sprouting. The rod, amacrine and horizontal cell neurites were associated with the surfaces of glial fibrillary acidic protein-immunoreactive Müller cells. Most rod neurites that projected into the inner retina contacted the somata of gamma-aminobutyric acid-positive amacrine cells. CONCLUSIONS: Rods, amacrine and horizontal cells undergo neurite sprouting in human retinas with retinitis pigmentosa. These changes in the retinal neurons may contribute to the electroretinographic abnormalities and progressive decline in vision noted by patients with retinitis pigmentosa. These alterations may also complicate strategies for treatment of retinitis pigmentosa.

Adult↗

The neuronal intermediate filament, alpha-internexin is transiently expressed in amacrine cells in the developing mouse retina.

We have investigated the expression of intermediate filament proteins in the developing mouse retina by immunohistochemistry. Antibodies against alpha-internexin, the three neurofilament subunits (NF-L, NF-M, NF-H), vimentin, and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) were used to determine the relative expression of these proteins at different post-natal stages of mouse retinal development. alpha-Internexin is widely distributed in the process of amacrine cells, horizontal cells and retinal ganglion cells before post-natal day 5 (P5). At this age, NF-L and NF-M are detected primarily in the processes of horizontal cells and retinal ganglion cells, but are rarely found in amacrine cell processes. After P5, alpha-internexin is found to colocalize with other neuronal intermediate filaments in the cell processes of horizontal and ganglion cells, but its expression is barely detectable in amacrine cells processes. NF-H is not encountered in either the horizontal cell processes or the ganglion nerve fibers until P5. Vimentin is present in all glial cells (astrocytes and Müller cells) and some horizontal cell processes during development, while GFAP is found only in astrocyte processes of the mature retina. The transient presence of alpha-internexin in amacrine cells only in early development suggests that the protein may play a role in the plasticity of neuronal connections in the retina.

Animals↗

Immunocytochemical evidence that rod-connected horizontal cell axon terminals remodel in response to experimental retinal detachment in the cat.

PURPOSE: Cats have two types of horizontal cell (HC); one is axon-bearing (B-type), the other is axonless (A-type). We have previously described neurite sprouting from HCs in response to experimental retinal detachment. Here we sought to determine whether one or both types elaborate these outgrowths. METHODS: Sections as well as wholemounts of retinas detached for 3, 7 and 28 days together with control retinas were double or triple labeled with antibodies to the calcium binding proteins calretinin and calbindin, to the synaptic vesicle-associated membrane protein 2 (VAMP2), and to the 70 and 200 kDa subunits of the neurofilament protein. Digital immunofluorescence images were collected by both confocal and two-photon microscopy. RESULTS: In control retina, both HC types label with antibodies to calretinin and calbindin D, but only the A-type also intensely labels with the neurofilament protein antibody. After 3, 7 and 28 days of detachment, these staining patterns persist, but there is a moderate upregulation of neurofilament protein in the B-type cell. In the detached retina, HC processes sprout neurites that appear most commonly as a loose array of fine beaded processes rising from the outer plexiform layer (OPL) into the outer nuclear layer (ONL), or, especially at 28 days, as stout unbranching processes that often cross the ONL en route to the subretinal space where some expand and arborize. Both types are strongly calretinin-positive while being somewhat less positive for antibodies to calbindin D and neurofilament protein. Moreover, they all arise from similarly labeled processes in the distal-most domain of the OPL where the narrowly stratified field of axon terminal boutons of the B-type HC normally innervates rod spherules, two to three thousand per cell. Our data indicate that the HC sprouts apparently arise specifically from the axon terminal of the B-type cell since outgrowths were never seen arising from either type of HC perikaryon or from processes identifiable as A-type dendrites. CONCLUSIONS: The data described here point to the specific remodeling of the rod-connected axon terminals of the B-type cell through neurite outgrowth. Rods respond to detachment by withdrawing synaptic terminals from the OPL while cones do not. Those HC outgrowths that terminate within the ONL appear to retain their connection with the retracted terminals. Others apparently have lost their presynaptic targets and cross the ONL in association with hypertrophied Müller cell processes.

Animals↗

Uncoupling of horizontal cells alters the receptive fields of retinal bipolar cells.

Effects of uncoupling of horizontal cells by 1-octanol, a non-specific gap junction uncoupling agent, on the receptive field organization of cone-dominant bipolar cells were investigated in isolated, superfused carp retina, using intracellular recording techniques. At 1 mM, 1-octanol increased responses of cone driven horizontal cells to light spots, but decreased those to light annuli, indicating a reduction of the receptive field size of these cells by uncoupling. Furthermore, 1-octanol eliminated the surround response of OFF type bipolar cells and increased their center response. Similar effects of 1-octanol on the center and surround responses were observed in ON type bipolar cells. These results suggest that uncoupling of horizontal cells can significantly alter the receptive field organization of retinal bipolar cells.

1-Octanol↗

Effect of polyamine depletion on cone photoreceptors of the developing rabbit retina.

PURPOSE: To measure the concentrations of polyamines, determine their cellular and subcellular localization, and analyze effects of their depletion in developing rabbit retina. METHODS: Isolated retinas at different developmental stages were analyzed for polyamine content by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). An antibody against polyamines was used to localize endogenous stores in both freshly harvested retinas and neonatal retinal explants. To determine the effects of polyamine depletion on immature retina, neonatal explants were cultured in the presence or absence of alpha-difluoromethylornithine (DFMO), an inhibitor of the polyamine synthetic enzyme ornithine decarboxylase (ODC). Similar studies were also performed on dissociated cell cultures. Tissue was assessed using standard histologic stains as well as cell-specific markers (peanut agglutinin for cone photoreceptors and calbindin for horizontal cells). RESULTS: Retinal polyamine content was highest at birth, remained relatively high during the first postnatal week, and then steadily decreased to adult levels. At all ages analyzed, spermine concentration was higher than putrescine or spermidine; however, the differential was greatest in the adult. Polyamine immunoreactivity was localized to distal processes of both rods and cones during development. Strong immunoreactivity was maintained in adult cone inner and outer segments; comparatively weak staining was observed in the adult rods. Heavy staining of ganglion cells was present throughout development but was localized in the cytoplasm in immature cells and in the nucleus in the adult. Amacrine cells stained only in the adult. Polyamine depletion caused a disruption of immature cones, evident in the loss of their somata in the outer nuclear layer, in their processes in the outer plexiform layer in retinal explants, and in their decreased association with horizontal cells in dissociated cell culture. CONCLUSIONS: The relatively high concentrations of polyamines in neonatal retina and their discrete localization in developing photoreceptor outer segments and ganglion cells suggests an important role for these compounds in development. The disruption of cone-specific markers in polyamine-depleted retinas indicates a specific reliance on polyamines for expression of normal cone morphology or morphologic development. These developmental effects may involve polyamine-sensitive ion channels, which are known to exist in retina, or direct interactions with specialized cytoskeletal elements within outer segments.

Aging↗

Postsynaptic calcium pathway contributes to synaptic plasticity between retinal cones and luminosity-type horizontal cells.

It was previously found that the efficacy of synaptic transmission between retinal cone systems and luminosity-type horizontal cells (LHCs) was activity-dependent. Repetitive activation of red-cone pathway increased the LHCos hyperpolarizing response to red light, and the response enhancement was reversible. In this study, intracellular recording and pharmacological method were applied to investigate the mechanism(s) underlying red-flickering-induced response enhancement. Lowering intracellular Ca(2+) in the LHC by intracellular injection of Ca(2+) chelator EGTA prevented the development of red-flickering-induced response enhancement, which implicates the importance of postsynaptic calcium signal. The response enhancement could also be eliminated by a potent antagonist of Ca(2+)-permeable AMPA receptor (CP-AMPAR), which suggests the possibility that Ca(2+) influx via glutamate-gated calcium channels is related to the changes of [Ca(2+)](i). Furthermore, the administration of ryanodine or caffeine also attenuated the phenomenon, which gives evidence that the local calcium signal caused by intracellular calcium-induced calcium release (CICR) may be involved. Taken together, our data implicate that postsynaptic CICR and CP-AMPAR are related to the activity-dependent response enhancement.

Animals↗

Horizontal cell density and mosaic regularity in pigmented and albino mouse retina.

The present study has examined the density and mosaic regularity of the population of horizontal cells in the pigmented and albino mouse retina. Retinal wholemounts were immunostained for calbindin, and labeled cells within sampled fields were analyzed to determine horizontal cell soma size and density. The X-Y positional coordinates of each cell were determined, from which the geometrical properties of the mosaic were examined using nearest neighbor and Voronoi domain analyses, and regularity indices were derived from those measures. Autocorrelation and density recovery profile analyses were also conducted to identify the presence of exclusion zones within the population of horizontal cells. For each sampled field, random simulations of matched density, constrained by the physical size of the horizontal cells, were generated and analyzed in parallel. Neither retinal area, nor horizontal cell soma size, nor density differed between the pigmented and albino retinas. Mosaic regularity in pigmented and albino retinas did not differ, but each differed significantly from random simulations of identical density. Horizontal cells in the mouse retina exhibit exclusion zones extending beyond the physical size of the soma, but these were identical in size in the pigmented and albino retina. Such exclusion zones are suggested to reflect homotypic interactions between horizontal cells during early development that mediate cellular repulsion and tangential movement. The lack of any discernable effect brought about by the albino mutation, despite numerous developmental abnormalities associated with the retinal neuroepithelium in albino mice, is consistent with other results showing that homotypic interactions are sufficient for the genesis of the global patterning characteristic of mature retinal mosaics.

Albinism↗

GABA-like immunoreactivity in the developing chick retina: differentiation of GABAergic horizontal cell and its possible contacts with photoreceptors.

The morphology of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-containing horizontal cells was examined in mature and developing chick retinas by GABA immunocytochemistry. In the outer plexiform layer of the mature retina, GABA-immunoreactive components were located in three different sublayers. In the inner (vitreal) layer most positively-stained fibres were laterally oriented processes from horizontal cells. Thick processes were found in the middle layer, and the relatively thin fibres in the outer (scleral) layer showed a concave curvature, suggesting their termination on photoreceptor terminals. By electron microscopy it was found that the principal cone pedicles were usually indented by immunoreactive lateral neurites of horizontal cells but that rod spherules faced only occasionally immunoreactive fibres. Accessory cones and single cones were also not usually indented by immunoreactive fibres. These observations may indicate that horizontal cells regulate the excitation of cone photoreceptors by several different inhibitory mechanisms. During retinal development, horizontal cells begin to extend lateral fibres by the ninth embryonic day, and some GABAergic horizontal cells also possess inwardly extending fibres until embryonic day 11. Between embryonic days 13 and 15, some immunoreactive cells were found among the bipolar cells, suggesting that they were still migrating to their final position. On embryonic day 17, the staining pattern was very similar to that of the mature retina. These results suggest that GABA immunohistochemistry may be an excellent tool for studying horizontal cell differentiation.

Animals↗

The spatial order of horizontal cells is not affected by massive alterations in the organization of other retinal cells.

To test whether retinal mosaics develop through interactions that are restricted primarily to the mosaic cells, we studied the horizontal cell mosaic in mutant mice (rd/rd and rd/bcl2) displaying severe retinal abnormalities. These mutants show that the horizontal cell mosaic develops normally even if these cells lack part of their synaptic input, have anomalous morphologies, eventually decrease in number, and reside in an abnormally packed retinal layer. These data strongly support a developmental design in which the final position of each cell in a retinal mosaic is controlled by interactions between homotypic cells and is independent of other cell types. The present analysis is also an investigation of the effects of photoreceptor degeneration on the horizontal cells in an established animal model of retinitis pigmentosa, the rd/rd mouse. We find that the organization of the horizontal cell mosaic resists photoreceptor degeneration and, furthermore, that bcl2 overexpression prevents the partial loss of horizontal cells secondary to photoreceptor loss. Secondary degeneration hampers attempts to restore retinal function by transplanting photoreceptors or promoting their survival. The anti-apoptotic gene bcl2 appears to be a promising tool to rescue inner retinal neurons, increasing the probability that photoreceptor rescue or substitution may be beneficial to subjects suffering from retinal degenerative diseases.

Age Factors↗

Parvalbumin, a horizontal cell-associated calcium-binding protein in retinoblastoma eyes.

PURPOSE: To search for differentiation in retinoblastoma toward horizontal cells and retinal neurons other than photoreceptor cells with antibodies to parvalbumin, a horizontal, ganglion, and amacrine cell-associated antigen. METHODS: Fifty formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded human eyes with an intraocular retinoblastoma and two orbital recurrences were studied using the avidin-biotinylated peroxidase complex method and monoclonal antibody (mAb) PA-235 to parvalbumin. RESULTS: In the retinas of retinoblastoma eyes obtained after birth, horizontal cells at the outer border of the inner nuclear layer and their processes in the inner part of the outer plexiform layer always reacted with mAb PA-235. Immunolabeled ganglion and amacrine cells were found, respectively, in 31 (76%; 95% confidence interval [CI] 60-88) and 15 (37%; 95% (CI 22-53) of the 41 eyes with preserved retinas, whereas bipolar and photoreceptor cells were unlabeled. Undifferentiated and differentiated retinoblastoma cells in all studied specimens were negative for parvalbumin. However, immunopositive horizontal and ganglion cells engulfed by the tumor were present within 36 of the 50 retinoblastomas (72%; 95% CI 58 - 84), which often allowed the tracing of otherwise invisible remnants of former infiltrated retinas. CONCLUSIONS: Parvalbumin is a useful marker for horizontal and ganglion cells in normal and pathologic human retinas, including those entrapped within retinoblastoma. The absence of parvalbumin from tumor cells argues against differentiation similar to that seen in these parvalbumin-positive neurons and subpopulations of amacrine cells from the second trimester onward.

Antibodies, Monoclonal↗

Ptf1a determines horizontal and amacrine cell fates during mouse retinal development.

The vertebrate neural retina comprises six classes of neurons and one class of glial cells, all derived from a population of multipotent progenitors. There is little information on the molecular mechanisms governing the specification of cell type identity from multipotent progenitors in the developing retina. We report that Ptf1a, a basic-helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factor, is transiently expressed by post-mitotic precursors in the developing mouse retina. Recombination-based lineage tracing analysis in vivo revealed that Ptf1a expression marks retinal precursors with competence to exclusively produce horizontal and amacrine neurons. Inactivation of Ptf1a leads to a fate-switch in these precursors that causes them to adopt a ganglion cell fate. This mis-specification of neurons results in a complete loss of horizontal cells, a profound decrease of amacrine cells and an increase in ganglion cells. Furthermore, we identify Ptf1a as a primary downstream target for Foxn4, a forkhead transcription factor involved in the genesis of horizontal and amacrine neurons. These data, together with the previous findings on Foxn4, provide a model in which the Foxn4-Ptf1a pathway plays a central role in directing the differentiation of retinal progenitors towards horizontal and amacrine cell fates.

Amacrine Cells↗

Horizontal cell morphology in nocturnal and diurnal primates: a comparison between owl-monkey (Aotus) and capuchin monkey (Cebus).

Horizontal cell morphology was studied in the retina of the nocturnal owl-monkey, Aotus, and compared with that of its diurnal, close relative, the capuchin monkey, Cebus . Cells were initially labeled with DiI and the staining was later photoconverted in a stable precipitated using DAB as chromogen. The sizes of cell bodies, dendritic fields, and axon terminals, number of dendritic clusters, intercluster spacing, and intercone spacing were measured at increasing eccentricities. Two distinct morphological classes of horizontal cells were identified, which resembled those of H1 and H3 cells described in diurnal monkeys. A few examples of a third class, possibly corresponding to the H2 cells of diurnal monkeys, were labeled. Both H1 and H3 cells increased in size and had increasing numbers of dendritic clusters with eccentricity. H3 cells were larger and had a larger number of dendritic clusters than H1 cells. Owl-monkey H1 cells had larger dendritic fields than capuchin monkey H1 cells at all quadrants in the central and midperipheral retinal regions, but the difference disappeared in the far periphery. Owl-monkey and capuchin monkey H1 cells had about the same number of dendritic clusters across eccentricity. As owl-monkey H1 cells were larger than capuchin monkey H1 cells, the equal number of clusters in these two primates was due to the fact that they were more spaced in the owl-monkey cells. H1 intercluster distance closely matched intercone spacing for both the owl-monkey and capuchin monkey retinas. On the other hand, H3 intercluster distance was larger than intercone spacing in the retina of both primates. Owl-monkey H1 axon terminals had 2-3 times more knobs than capuchin monkey H1 axon terminals in spite of having about the same size and, consequently, knob density was 2-3 times higher for owl-monkey than capuchin monkey H1 axon terminals across all eccentricities. The differences observed between owl-monkey and capuchin monkey horizontal cells, regarding the morphology of their dendritic trees and axon terminals, may be related to the differences found in the cone-to-rod ratio in the retina of these two primates. They seem to represent retinal specializations to the nocturnal and diurnal life styles of the owl-monkey and capuchin monkey, respectively.

Animals↗