Presence of retinogeniculate fibers is essential for initiating the formation of each interlaminar space in the lateral geniculate nucleus

Early and rapid targeting of eye-specific axonal projections to the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus in the fetal macaque

The emergence of eye-specific axonal projections to the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus (dLGN) is a well established model system for exploring the mechanisms underlying afferent targeting during development. Using modern tract tracing methods, we examined the development of this feature in the macaque, an Old World Primate with a visual system similar to that of humans. Cholera toxin beta fragment conjugated to Alexa 488 was injected into the vitreous of one eye, and CTbeta conjugated to Alexa 594 into the other eye of embryos at known gestational ages. On embryonic day 69 (E69), which is approximately 100 d before birth, inputs from the two eyes were extensively intermingled in the dLGN. However, even at this early age, portions of the dLGN were preferentially innervated by the right or left eye, and segregation is complete within the dorsalmost layers 5 and 6. By E78, eye-specific segregation is clearly established throughout the parvocellular division of the dLGN, and substantial ocular segregation is present in the magnocellular division. By E84, segregation of left and right eye axons is essentially complete, and the six eye-specific domains that characterize the mature macaque dLGN are clearly discernable. These findings reveal that targeting of eye-specific axonal projections in the macaque occurs much earlier and more rapidly than previously reported. This segregation process is completed before the reported onset of ganglion cell axon loss and retino-dLGN synapse elimination, suggesting that, in the primate, eye-specific targeting occurs independent of traditional forms of synaptic plasticity.

An ultrastructural and morphometric study of the effect of removal of retinal input on the development of the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus

In normal development, cell layers in the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus (dLGN) segregate from a relatively homogeneous cell group. If all retinal input is removed prior to this segregation, the layers fail to form. In the present study, we used ultrastructural and morphometric analyses to study dLGN development in the tree shrew following neonatal removal of retinal input. The goal of the present study was to determine whether there are differences between normal animals and enucleates in the development of dLGN cells and their interrelationships with each other and/or with the surrounding glia, which might explain the failure of cellular lamination in enucleated animals. The results indicate that although the development in enucleated animals may take place somewhat more slowly, by P90 cell size and density are not significantly different from normal. These results, coupled with the observation that the dLGN in enucleates is smaller than in normals, suggest that the removal of retinal input results in dLGN cell loss. At both the light and electron microscopic level, cells in the developing normal dLGN are arranged in bands of immediately adjacent cells. In enucleates, dLGN cells are less frequently in immediate contact and are arranged in small groups or clumps which may be separated by degenerating cells. The present data suggest that the presence of retinal input may be necessary to allow dLGN cells to maintain the intercellular relationships necessary for laminar segregation to take place.

Organization of the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus in a cat with congenital microphthalmia

The effects of congenital monocular microphthalmia on the development of the lateral geniculate nucleus were examined in a 10-week-old cat. The left eye and optic nerve in this animal appear normal. The right eye is about 30% smaller in volume than the left and the optic nerve from this eye has a cross-sectional area that is only 15% that of the left. In addition, this nerve contains few, if any, large myelinated axons. Both lateral geniculate nuclei are abnormal and the abnormality differs rostrally and caudally. The caudal portion most closely resembles the normal nucleus. Retinal input from both eyes is segregated into cellular laminae that are separated from each other by cell sparse interlaminar zones. However, the input from the microphthalmic eye seems to be sparse and patchy and it does not support normal cell growth. All neurons, including glutamic acid decarboxylase-positive (GAD+) neurons, in laminae innervated by the small eye are reduced in size in a pattern similar to that seen following the removal of retinal input. In comparison, the rostral portion of the nucleus receives very little input from the microphthalmic eye. Instead the normal eye densely innervates nearly the entire nucleus. In this region, interlaminar zones fail to form but the input from the normal eye is able to support cell growth including the growth of GAD+ neurons.

Ultrastructure of the developing tree shrew lateral geniculate nucleus

We examined the ultrastructural development of the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) in postnatal tree shrews to distinguish which features, if any, show a correlation with the development of cell layers. Our data indicate that synaptogenesis has begun at birth (PO) which is prior to the development of cell layers. At postnatal day 8 (P8), when laminar borders can be distinguished, the majority of synaptic profiles are still immature. Although some mature synaptic profiles can be identified at P8 and especially at P15, complex synaptic arrangements characteristic of adults are absent at that time. Growth cones are present at all 3 ages but are less prevalent at P8 and P15 than at birth and appear to be present in slightly higher concentrations in the interlaminar spaces. These results suggest that LGN cell layer formation does not correlate with the beginning of synaptogenesis but that it may correlate with an increase in growth cones in the interlaminar spaces.