Organization of retinal ganglion cell axons in the optic fiber layer and nerve of fetal ferrets

Signaling - transcription interactions in mouse retinal ganglion cells early axon pathfinding -a literature review

Sending an axon out of the eye and into the target brain nuclei is the defining feature of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs). The literature on RGC axon pathfinding is vast, but it focuses mostly on decision making events such as midline crossing at the optic chiasm or retinotopic mapping at the target nuclei. In comparison, the exit of RGC axons out of the eye is much less explored. The first checkpoint on the RGC axons' path is the optic cup - optic stalk junction (OC-OS). OC-OS development and the exit of the RGC pioneer axons out of the eye are coordinated spatially and temporally. By the time the optic nerve head domain is specified, the optic fissure margins are in contact and the fusion process is ongoing, the first RGCs are born in its proximity and send pioneer axons in the optic stalk. RGC differentiation continues in centrifugal waves. Later born RGC axons fasciculate with the more mature axons. Growth cones at the end of the axons respond to guidance cues to adopt a centripetal direction, maintain nerve fiber layer restriction and to leave the optic cup. Although there is extensive information on OC-OS development, we still have important unanswered questions regarding its contribution to the exit of the RGC axons out of the eye. We are still to distinguish the morphogens of the OC-OS from the axon guidance molecules which are expressed in the same place at the same time. The early RGC transcription programs responsible for axon emergence and pathfinding are also unknown. This review summarizes the molecular mechanisms for early RGC axon guidance by contextualizing mouse knock-out studies on OC-OS development with the recent transcriptomic studies on developing RGCs in an attempt to contribute to the understanding of human optic nerve developmental anomalies. The published data summarized here suggests that the developing optic nerve head provides a physical channel (the closing optic fissure) as well as molecular guidance cues for the pioneer RGC axons to exit the eye.

Optic nerve as a source of activated retinal microglia post-injury

Using mice expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP) from a transgenic CD11c promoter we found that a controlled optic nerve crush (ONC) injury attracted GFP^hi retinal myeloid cells to the dying retinal ganglion cells and their axons. However, the origin of these retinal myeloid cells was uncertain. In this study we use transgenic mice in conjunction with ONC, partial and full optic nerve transection (ONT), and parabiosis to determine the origin of injury induced retinal myeloid cells. Analysis of parabiotic mice and fate mapping showed that responding retinal myeloid cells were not derived from circulating macrophages and that GFP^hi myeloid cells could be derived from GFP^lo microglia. Comparison of optic nerve to retina following an ONC showed a much greater concentration of GFP^hi cells and GFP^lo microglia in the optic nerve. Optic nerve injury also induced Ki67⁺ cells in the optic nerve but not in the retina. Comparison of the retinal myeloid cell response after full versus partial ONT revealed fewer GFP^hi cells and GFP^lo microglia in the retina following a full ONT despite it being a more severe injury, suggesting that full transection of the optic nerve can block the migration of responding myeloid cells to the retina. Our results suggest that the optic nerve can be a reservoir for activated microglia and other retinal myeloid cells in the retina following optic nerve injury.

Optic nerve, superior colliculus, visual thalamus, and primary visual cortex of the northern elephant seal (Mirounga angustirostris) and California sea lion (Zalophus californianus)

The northern elephant seal (Mirounga angustirostris) and California sea lion (Zalophus californianus) are members of a diverse clade of carnivorous mammals known as pinnipeds. Pinnipeds are notable for their large, ape-sized brains, yet little is known about their central nervous system. Both the northern elephant seal and California sea lion spend most of their lives at sea, but each also spends time on land to breed and give birth. These unique coastal niches may be reflected in specific evolutionary adaptations to their sensory systems. Here, we report on components of the visual pathway in these two species. We found evidence for two classes of myelinated fibers within the pinniped optic nerve, those with thick myelin sheaths (elephant seal: 9%, sea lion: 7%) and thin myelin sheaths (elephant seal: 91%, sea lion: 93%). In order to investigate the architecture of the lateral geniculate nucleus, superior colliculus, and primary visual cortex, we processed brain sections from seal and sea lion pups for Nissl substance, cytochrome oxidase, and vesicular glutamate transporters. As in other carnivores, the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus consisted of three main layers, A, A1, and C, while each superior colliculus similarly consisted of seven distinct layers. The sea lion visual cortex is located at the posterior side of cortex between the upper and lower banks of the postlateral sulcus, while the elephant seal visual cortex extends far more anteriorly along the dorsal surface and medial wall. These results are relevant to comparative studies related to the evolution of large brains.

Retinal prosthesis that incorporates the organization of the nerve fibre layer

Recent efforts to restore partial vision in blind patients have made significant progress. Currently, prosthetic design concentrates on stimulating as many foveal retinal ganglion cells as possible but is hampered by stimulation of the nerve fibre layer. This results in a nonvisuotopic arrangement of phosphenes (stimulation percepts). This article suggests that by extending the stimulation area well beyond the fovea and stimulating the nerve fibre layer, axons from any remaining ganglion cells in more peripheral regions of the retina (low acuity) can be used to generate a visuotopic map. Stimulation of the fibre layer will generate a large number of stimulation percepts; however, it is unlikely that these will have sufficient topographic order to be immediately useful to the patient. Thus, it will be necessary to recreate an ordered visuotopic map by using appropriate computer algorithms and interactions between the patient and the clinician.

Classification of axonal subtypes based on cytoskeletal components

Background

Retinal ganglion cells are often classified into different subtypes according to their morphology or physiological functions. The axons of RGCs contain three major cytoskeletal components: actin filaments (F-actin); microtubules; and neurofilaments (NFs). The contents of these components vary among axons. Our objective was to classify axons into subtypes based on the contents of cytoskeletal components and study their distributions across the retina in normal rodent retinas.

Methods

Whole-mounted retinas of female Wistar rats were stained with phalloidin to label F-actin, anti-β-tubulin monoclonal antibody to mark microtubules, and antineurofilament antibody to label NFs. A confocal laser scanning microscope was used to provide en face images of retinal nerve fiber bundles with a resolution of 0.24 μm/pixel. Staining intensity profiles across axons were obtained for each cytoskeletal component. Axonal subtypes were then determined from the relative contents, indicated by the staining intensity, of these components. Linear density was used to investigate topographical distribution of each subtype across the retina.

Results

Normal axons could be classified into seven subtypes – FMN, FM, FN, and MN subtypes, (in which at least two or three cytoskeletal components were intensely stained), and F, M, and N subtypes, (in which only one cytoskeletal component was intensely stained within an axon). The FMN subtype was the most abundant subtype. There was no preferential distribution of subtypes around the optic nerve head. However, the densities of the axonal subtypes that contained NFs were found significantly different in the central and peripheral retinal regions. Axonal sizes were subtype-dependent.

Conclusion

Axons of retinal ganglion cells can be classified into different subtypes, based on the contents of axonal cytoskeletal components. The classified subtypes will provide a new means to study selective damage of axonal ultrastructures in ocular neuropathic diseases.

Distribution of damage to the entire retinal ganglion cell pathway: quantified using spectral-domain optical coherence tomography analysis in patients with glaucoma

OBJECTIVES To test the hypothesis that the amount and distribution of glaucomatous damage along the entire retinal ganglion cell-axonal complex (RGC-AC) can be quantified and to map the RGC-AC connectivity in early glaucoma using automated image analysis of standard spectral-domain optical coherence tomography. METHODS Spectral-domain optical coherence tomography volumes were obtained from 116 eyes in 58 consecutive patients with glaucoma or suspected glaucoma. Layer and optic nerve head (ONH) analysis was performed; the mean regional retinal ganglion cell layer thickness (68 regions), nerve fiber layer (NFL) thickness (120 regions), and ONH rim area (12 wedge-shaped regions) were determined. Maps of RGC-AC connectivity were created using maximum correlation between regions' ganglion cell layer thickness, NFL thickness, and ONH rim area; for retinal nerve fiber bundle regions, the maximum "thickness correlation paths" were determined. RESULTS The mean (SD) NFL thickness and ganglion cell layer thickness across all macular regions were 22.5 (7.5) μm and 33.9 (8.4) μm, respectively. The mean (SD) rim area across all ONH wedge regions was 0.038 (0.004) mm2. Connectivity maps were obtained successfully and showed typical nerve fiber bundle connectivity of the RGC-AC cell body segment to the initial NFL axonal segment, of the initial to the final RGC-AC NFL axonal segments, of the final RGC-AC NFL axonal to the ONH axonal segment, and of the RGC-AC cell body segment to the ONH axonal segment. CONCLUSIONS In early glaucoma, the amount and distribution of glaucomatous damage along the entire RGC-AC can be quantified and mapped using automated image analysis of standard spectral-domain optical coherence tomography. Our findings should contribute to better detection and improved management of glaucoma.

Development of the retina and optic pathway

Our understanding of the development of the retina and visual pathways has seen enormous advances during the past 25years. New imaging technologies, coupled with advances in molecular biology, have permitted a fuller appreciation of the histotypical events associated with proliferation, fate determination, migration, differentiation, pathway navigation, target innervation, synaptogenesis and cell death, and in many instances, in understanding the genetic, molecular, cellular and activity-dependent mechanisms underlying those developmental changes. The present review considers those advances associated with the lineal relationships between retinal nerve cells, the production of retinal nerve cell diversity, the migration, patterning and differentiation of different types of retinal nerve cells, the determinants of the decussation pattern at the optic chiasm, the formation of the retinotopic map, and the establishment of ocular domains within the thalamus.

Chiasm formation in man is fundamentally different from that in the mouse

At the optic chiasm axons make a key binary decision either to cross the chiasmal midline to innervate the contralateral optic tract or to remain uncrossed and innervate the ipsilateral optic tract. In rodents, midline interactions between axons from the two eyes are critical for normal chiasm development. When one eye is removed early in development the hemispheric projections from the remaining eye are disrupted, increasing the crossed projection at the expense of the uncrossed. This is similar to the abnormal decussation pattern seen in albinos. The decussation pattern in marsupials, however, is markedly different. Early eye removal in the marsupial has no impact on projections from the remaining eye. These differences are related to the location of the uncrossed projection through the chiasm. In rodents, axons that will form the uncrossed projection approach the chiasmal midline, while in marsupials they remain segregated laterally through the chiasm. Histological analysis of the optic chiasm in man provides anatomical evidence to suggest that, unlike in rodents, uncrossed axons are confined laterally from the optic nerve through to the optic tract and do not mix in each hemi-chiasm. This is a pattern similar to that found in marsupials. Electrophysiological evidence in human anophthalmics shows that the failure of one eye to develop in man has no impact on the hemispheric projections from the remaining eye. This strongly suggests that the mechanisms regulating chiasmal development in man differ from those in rodents, but may be similar to marsupials. This implies that optic chiasm formation in rodents and ferrets is not common to placental mammals in general.

Ephrin-A2 and -A5 influence patterning of normal and novel retinal projections to the thalamus: Conserved mapping mechanisms in visual and auditory thalamic targets

Sensory axons are targeted to modality-specific nuclei in the thalamus. Retinal ganglion cell axons project retinotopically to their principal thalamic target, the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus (LGd), in a pattern likely dictated by the expression of molecular gradients in the LGd. Deafferenting the auditory thalamus induces retinal axons to innervate the medial geniculate nucleus (MGN). These retino-MGN projections also show retinotopic organization. Here we show that ephrin-A2 and -A5, which are expressed in similar gradients in the MGN and LGd, can be used to pattern novel retinal projections in the MGN. As in the LGd, retinal axons from each eye terminate in discrete eye-specific zones in the MGN of rewired wild-type and ephrin-A2/A5 knockout mice. However, ipsilateral eye axons, which arise from retinal regions of high EphA5 receptor expression and represent central visual field, terminate in markedly different ways in the two mice. In rewired wild-type mice, ipsilateral axons specifically avoid areas of high ephrin expression in the MGN. In rewired ephrin knockout mice, ipsilateral projections shift in location and spread more broadly, leading to an expanded representation of the ipsilateral eye in the MGN. Similarly, ipsilateral projections to the LGd in ephrin knockout mice are shifted and are more widespread than in the LGd of wild-type mice. In the MGN, as in the LGd, terminations from the two eyes show little overlap even in the knockout mice, suggesting that local interocular segregation occurs regardless of other patterning determinants. Our data demonstrate that graded topographic labels, such as the ephrins, can serve to shape multiple related aspects of afferent patterning, including topographic mapping and the extent and spread of eye-specific projections. Furthermore, when mapping labels and other cues are expressed in multiple target zones, novel projections are patterned according to rules that operate in their canonical targets.

Growth cone form, behavior, and interactions in vivo: retinal axon pathfinding as a model

Studies in vitro have revealed a great deal about growth cone behaviors, especially responses to guidance molecules, both positive and negative, and the signaling systems mediating these responses. Little, however, is known about these events as they take place in vivo. With new imaging methods, growth cone behaviors can be chronicled in the complex settings of intact or semi-intact systems. With the retinal projection through the optic chiasm as a model, we examined the hypothesis previously drawn from static material that growth cone form is position-specific: growth cone form in fact reflects specific behaviors, including rate and tempo of extension, that are more or less prominent in different locales in which growth cones are situated. Other studies show that growth cones interact with cells along the pathway, both specialized nonneuronal cells and other neurons, some expressing known guidance molecules. The present challenge is to bridge dynamic imaging with electron microscopy and molecular localization, in order to link growth cone behaviors with cell and molecular interactions in the natural setting in which growth cones extend.

The course of later generated axons in the developing optic nerve of the chick embryo. A morphometric electron microscopic study

The topographic position of growth cones (GCs) shows the course of ingrowing axons within the optic nerve and allows to draw conclusions with respect to the fiber order in this pathway. Therefore, the topographic distribution and frequency of GCs as well as the proximal and distal axon shaft segments were studied within cross-sections of the distal, middle, and prechiasmatic part of the nerve of 3-8-day-old embryos using electron microscopy. The ingrowth of GCs was not confined to a particular region. Initially, GCs were found near the ventral periphery. With increasing age, simultaneous ingrowth occurred within an area that expanded dorsally. In parallel, GCs also occurred in dorsal regions and eventually in the dorsal periphery. GCs intermingled everywhere with more mature axon profiles. However, youngest profiles predominated ventrally, oldest dorsally. Hence, maturity increased from ventral to dorsal. This indicated that the time of arrival of axons and the topographic position in the cross-section correlated significantly. It is concluded that axons are chronotopically organized, but in a probabilistic sense. The predominant ingrowth of axons in the ventral part may be associated largely with the first wave of neurogenesis of retinal ganglion cells. The ingrowth in dorsal regions of the cross section may be related to later generated axons that enter the nerve following older axons of the same retinal sector as well as axons of neighboring ganglion cells which continue to leave the mitotic cycle while the front of neurogenesis has spread into the periphery.

Morphological consequences of myelination in the human retina

Intraretinal myelination of ganglion cell axons occurs in about 1% of humans and when observed ophthalmoscopically, appears as a white or opaque patch within the fiber layer. Previous studies of myelinated retinal tissue have largely been conducted at the light microscopic level. Three retinae with intraretinal myelination and one normal retina were obtained post-mortem and prepared for electron microscopy. The present study showed that myelinated patches in the human retina contained a mixture of unmyelinated and myelinated axons. Within this population of myelinated axons were structures which were abnormal and there were obvious signs of axonal and myelin sheath degeneration within the myelinated patches. Outside these myelin patches the retina appeared normal without signs of degeneration indicating that post-mortem degeneration prior to fixation could not account for all of the degenerative changes observed. The lack of significant numbers of macrophages and lymphocytes indicated that there was no concomitant inflammatory process within the myelin patches. The myelination present within these eyes appeared to be due to the anomalous location of oligodendrocytes. Both unmyelinated and myelinated axons had larger diameter than axons measured within normal areas of the retina or those within the optic nerve.

Classes of axons and their distribution in the optic nerve of the tree shrew (Tupaia belangeri)

BACKGROUND

It has been suggested that retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) of Tupaia can be subdivided into three classes that correspond to the X, Y, and W classes in the cat. Estimates of these classes as determined by electrophysiological experiments and by histological studies of the retina are at variance. Because the RGC classes differ in axon diameter, this parameter could serve as a reliable criterion for the evaluation of RGC classes and their proportions.

METHODS

An electronmicroscopic analysis of four optic nerves was carried out. The density of axons and their diameters was recorded from cross sections in the middle of the nerves. Based on a theoretical model, axons were classified according to the three known RGC classes. In addition, we investigated how axons of different size are distributed within the nerve.

RESULTS

On average, the total number of axons is 570,000. More than 99% of axons are myelinated. Axon diameters can be 0.2-3.6 microns, and fiber diameters can be 0.3-4.6 microns. The frequency distributions of axon and fiber diameter are positively skewed and multimodal. Our analysis revealed three distinct axon diameter groups with the following mean axon diameters and proportions: the small or S group: 0.55 micron, 70%; the medium-sized or M group: 0.88 micron, 20%; the large of L group: 1.39 microns, 10%. Density and axon diameter plots produced consistent patterns, according to which axons of different sizes were distributed in the optic nerve. Thick axons are located dorsotemporally and centrally in the nerve. The average diameter value decreases toward the periphery. The smallest values are found at the ventronasal border of the nerve.

CONCLUSIONS

The observed axon diameter groups probably arise from functionally distinct RGC types. There is evidence that these groups correspond to functional W, X, and Y RGC classes. Our study also provides the first evidence of the existence of a topographic order of fibers within the nerve of the tree shrew.

The human fetal retinal nerve fiber layer and optic nerve head: a DiI and DiA tracing study

The organization of the primate nerve fiber layer and optic nerve head with respect to the positioning of central and peripheral axons remains controversial. Data were obtained from 32 human fetal retinae aged between 15 and 21 weeks of gestation. Crystals of the carbocyanine dyes, DiI or DiA, and fluorescence microscopy were used to identify axonal populations from peripheral retinal ganglion cells. Peripheral ganglion cell axons were scattered throughout the vitreal-scleral depth of the nerve fiber layer. Such a scattered distribution was maintained as the fibers passed through the optic nerve head and along the optic nerve. There was a rough topographic representation within the optic nerve head according to retinal quadrant such that both peripheral and central fibers were mixed within a wedge extending from the periphery to the center of the nerve. There was no indication that the fibers were reorganized in any way as they passed through the optic disc and into the nerve. The present results suggest that any degree of order present within the fiber layer and optic nerve is not an active process but a passive consequence of combining the fascicles of the retinal nerve fiber layer. Optic axons are not instructed to establish a retinotopic order and the effect of guidance cues in reordering fibers, particularly evident prechiasmatically and postchiasmatically, does not appear to be present within the nerve fiber layer or optic nerve head in humans.

Maturational gradients in the retina of the ferret

In the present set of studies, we have examined the site for the initiation of retinal maturation in the ferret. A variety of maturational features across the developing inner and outer retina were examined by using standard immunohistochemical, carbocyanine dye labelling, and Nissl-staining techniques, including 1) two indices of early differentiation of the first-born retinal ganglion cells, the presence of beta-tubulin and of neuron-specific enolase; 2) the receding distribution of chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans within the inner retina; 3) the distribution of the first ganglion cells to grow axons along the optic nerve; 4) the emergence of the inner plexiform layer; 5) the emergence of the outer plexiform layer and 6) the onset of synaptophysin immunoreactivity within it; 7) the differentiation of calbindin-immunoreactive horizontal cells; and 8) the cessation of proliferative activity at the ventricular surface. Although we were able to define distinct maturational gradients that are associated with many of these features of inner and outer retinal development (each considered in detail in this report), with dorsal retina maturing before ventral retina, and with peripheral retina maturing last, none showed a clear initiation in the region of the developing area centralis. Rather, maturation began in the peripapillary retina dorsal to the optic nerve head, which is consistent with previous studies on the topography of ganglion cell genesis in the ferret. These results make clear that the order of retinal maturation and the formation of the area centralis are not linked, at least not in the ferret.