The type 1 polyaxonal amacrine cells of the rabbit retina: A tracer-coupling study

Cell types and cell circuits in human and non-human primate retina

This review summarizes our current knowledge of primate including human retina focusing on bipolar, amacrine and ganglion cells and their connectivity. We have two main motivations in writing. Firstly, recent progress in non-invasive imaging methods to study retinal diseases mean that better understanding of the primate retina is becoming an important goal both for basic and for clinical sciences. Secondly, genetically modified mice are increasingly used as animal models for human retinal diseases. Thus, it is important to understand to which extent the retinas of primates and rodents are comparable. We first compare cell populations in primate and rodent retinas, with emphasis on how the fovea (despite its small size) dominates the neural landscape of primate retina. We next summarise what is known, and what is not known, about the postreceptoral neurone populations in primate retina. The inventories of bipolar and ganglion cells in primates are now nearing completion, comprising ~12 types of bipolar cell and at least 17 types of ganglion cell. Primate ganglion cells show clear differences in dendritic field size across the retina, and their morphology differs clearly from that of mouse retinal ganglion cells. Compared to bipolar and ganglion cells, amacrine cells show even higher morphological diversity: they could comprise over 40 types. Many amacrine types appear conserved between primates and mice, but functions of only a few types are understood in any primate or non-primate retina. Amacrine cells appear as the final frontier for retinal research in monkeys and mice alike.

Heterocellular Coupling Between Amacrine Cells and Ganglion Cells

All superclasses of retinal neurons, including bipolar cells (BCs), amacrine cells (ACs) and ganglion cells (GCs), display gap junctional coupling. However, coupling varies extensively by class. Heterocellular AC coupling is common in many mammalian GC classes. Yet, the topology and functions of coupling networks remains largely undefined. GCs are the least frequent superclass in the inner plexiform layer and the gap junctions mediating GC-to-AC coupling (GC::AC) are sparsely arrayed amidst large cohorts of homocellular AC::AC, BC::BC, GC::GC and heterocellular AC::BC gap junctions. Here, we report quantitative coupling for identified GCs in retinal connectome 1 (RC1), a high resolution (2 nm) transmission electron microscopy-based volume of rabbit retina. These reveal that most GC gap junctions in RC1 are suboptical. GC classes lack direct cross-class homocellular coupling with other GCs, despite opportunities via direct membrane contact, while OFF alpha GCs and transient ON directionally selective (DS) GCs are strongly coupled to distinct AC cohorts. Integrated small molecule immunocytochemistry identifies these as GABAergic ACs (γ+ ACs). Multi-hop synaptic queries of RC1 connectome further profile these coupled γ+ ACs. Notably, OFF alpha GCs couple to OFF γ+ ACs and transient ON DS GCs couple to ON γ+ ACs, including a large interstitial amacrine cell, revealing matched ON/OFF photic drive polarities within coupled networks. Furthermore, BC input to these γ+ ACs is tightly matched to the GCs with which they couple. Evaluation of the coupled versus inhibitory targets of the γ+ ACs reveals that in both ON and OFF coupled GC networks these ACs are presynaptic to GC classes that are different than the classes with which they couple. These heterocellular coupling patterns provide a potential mechanism for an excited GC to indirectly inhibit nearby GCs of different classes. Similarly, coupled γ+ ACs engaged in feedback networks can leverage the additional gain of BC synapses in shaping the signaling of downstream targets based on their own selective coupling with GCs. A consequence of coupling is intercellular fluxes of small molecules. GC::AC coupling involves primarily γ+ cells, likely resulting in GABA diffusion into GCs. Surveying GABA signatures in the GC layer across diverse species suggests the majority of vertebrate retinas engage in GC::γ+ AC coupling.

New encoding concepts for shape recognition are needed

Models designed to explain how shapes are perceived and stored by the nervous system commonly emphasize encoding of contour features, especially orientation, curvature, and linear extent. A number of experiments from my laboratory provide evidence that contours deliver a multitude of location markers, and shapes can be identified when relatively few of the markers are displayed. The emphasis on filtering for orientation and other contour features has directed attention away from full and effective examination of how the location information is registered and used for summarizing shapes. Neural network (connectionist) models try to deal with location information by modifying linkage among neuronal populations through training trials. Connections that are initially diffuse and not useful in achieving recognition get eliminated or changed in strength, resulting in selective response to a given shape. But results from my laboratory, reviewed here, demonstrate that unknown shapes that are displayed only once can be identified using a matching task. These findings show that our visual system can immediately encode shape information with no requirement for training trials. This encoding might be accomplished by neuronal circuits in the retina.

Gap junctional coupling between retinal amacrine and ganglion cells underlies coherent activity integral to global object perception

Coherent spike activity occurs between widely separated retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) in response to a large, contiguous object, but not to disjointed objects. Since the large spatial separation between the RGCs precludes common excitatory inputs from bipolar cells, the mechanism underlying this long-range coherence remains unclear. Here, we show that electrical coupling between RGCs and polyaxonal amacrine cells in mouse retina forms the synaptic mechanism responsible for long-range coherent activity in the retina. Pharmacological blockade of gap junctions or genetic ablation of connexin 36 (Cx36) subunits eliminates the long-range correlated spiking between RGCs. Moreover, we find that blockade of gap junctions or ablation of Cx36 significantly reduces the ability of mice to discriminate large, global objects from small, disjointed stimuli. Our results indicate that synchronous activity of RGCs, derived from electrical coupling with amacrine cells, encodes information critical to global object perception.

The Synaptic and Morphological Basis of Orientation Selectivity in a Polyaxonal Amacrine Cell of the Rabbit Retina

Much of the computational power of the retina derives from the activity of amacrine cells, a large and diverse group of GABAergic and glycinergic inhibitory interneurons. Here, we identify an ON-type orientation-selective, wide-field, polyaxonal amacrine cell (PAC) in the rabbit retina and demonstrate how its orientation selectivity arises from the structure of the dendritic arbor and the pattern of excitatory and inhibitory inputs. Excitation from ON bipolar cells and inhibition arising from the OFF pathway converge to generate a quasi-linear integration of visual signals in the receptive field center. This serves to suppress responses to high spatial frequencies, thereby improving sensitivity to larger objects and enhancing orientation selectivity. Inhibition also regulates the magnitude and time course of excitatory inputs to this PAC through serial inhibitory connections onto the presynaptic terminals of ON bipolar cells. This presynaptic inhibition is driven by graded potentials within local microcircuits, similar in extent to the size of single bipolar cell receptive fields. Additional presynaptic inhibition is generated by spiking amacrine cells on a larger spatial scale covering several hundred microns. The orientation selectivity of this PAC may be a substrate for the inhibition that mediates orientation selectivity in some types of ganglion cells. Significance statement: The retina comprises numerous excitatory and inhibitory circuits that encode specific features in the visual scene, such as orientation, contrast, or motion. Here, we identify a wide-field inhibitory neuron that responds to visual stimuli of a particular orientation, a feature selectivity that is primarily due to the elongated shape of the dendritic arbor. Integration of convergent excitatory and inhibitory inputs from the ON and OFF visual pathways suppress responses to small objects and fine textures, thus enhancing selectivity for larger objects. Feedback inhibition regulates the strength and speed of excitation on both local and wide-field spatial scales. This study demonstrates how different synaptic inputs are regulated to tune a neuron to respond to specific features in the visual scene.

Heterogeneous transgene expression in the retinas of the TH-RFP, TH-Cre, TH-BAC-Cre and DAT-Cre mouse lines

Transgenic mouse lines are essential tools for understanding the connectivity, physiology and function of neuronal circuits, including those in the retina. This report compares transgene expression in the retina of a tyrosine hydroxylase (TH)-red fluorescent protein (RFP) mouse line with three catecholamine-related Cre recombinase mouse lines [TH-bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC)-, TH-, and dopamine transporter (DAT)-Cre] that were crossed with a ROSA26-tdTomato reporter line. Retinas were evaluated and immunostained with commonly used antibodies including those directed to TH, GABA and glycine to characterize the RFP or tdTomato fluorescent-labeled amacrine cells, and an antibody directed to RNA-binding protein with multiple splicing to identify ganglion cells. In TH-RFP retinas, types 1 and 2 dopamine (DA) amacrine cells were identified by their characteristic cellular morphology and type 1 DA cells by their expression of TH immunoreactivity. In the TH-BAC-, TH-, and DAT-tdTomato retinas, less than 1%, ∼ 6%, and 0%, respectively, of the fluorescent cells were the expected type 1 DA amacrine cells. Instead, in the TH-BAC-tdTomato retinas, fluorescently labeled AII amacrine cells were predominant, with some medium diameter ganglion cells. In TH-tdTomato retinas, fluorescence was in multiple neurochemical amacrine cell types, including four types of polyaxonal amacrine cells. In DAT-tdTomato retinas, fluorescence was in GABA immunoreactive amacrine cells, including two types of bistratified and two types of monostratified amacrine cells. Although each of the Cre lines was generated with the intent to specifically label DA cells, our findings show a cellular diversity in Cre expression in the adult retina and indicate the importance of careful characterization of transgene labeling patterns. These mouse lines with their distinctive cellular labeling patterns will be useful tools for future studies of retinal function and visual processing.

A polyaxonal amacrine cell population in the primate retina

Amacrine cells are the most diverse and least understood cell class in the retina. Polyaxonal amacrine cells (PACs) are a unique subset identified by multiple long axonal processes. To explore their functional properties, populations of PACs were identified by their distinctive radially propagating spikes in large-scale high-density multielectrode recordings of isolated macaque retina. One group of PACs exhibited stereotyped functional properties and receptive field mosaic organization similar to that of parasol ganglion cells. These PACs had receptive fields coincident with their dendritic fields, but much larger axonal fields, and slow radial spike propagation. They also exhibited ON-OFF light responses, transient response kinetics, sparse and coordinated firing during image transitions, receptive fields with antagonistic surrounds and fine spatial structure, nonlinear spatial summation, and strong homotypic neighbor electrical coupling. These findings reveal the functional organization and collective visual signaling by a distinctive, high-density amacrine cell population.

Survey on amacrine cells coupling to retrograde-identified ganglion cells in the mouse retina

PURPOSE

Retinal amacrine cells (ACs) may make inhibitory chemical synapses and potentially excitatory gap junctions on ganglion cells (GCs). The total number and subtypes of ACs coupled to the entire GC population were investigated in wild-type and three lines of transgenic mice.

METHODS

GCs and GC-coupled ACs were identified by the previously established LY-NB (Lucifer yellow-Neurobiotin) retrograde double-labeling technique, in conjunction with specific antibodies and confocal microscopy.

RESULTS

GC-coupled ACs (NB-positive and LY-negative) comprised nearly 11% of displaced ACs and 4% of conventional ACs in wild-type mice, and were 9% and 4% of displaced ACs in Cx45(-/-) and Cx36/45(-/-) mice, respectively. Their somas were small in Cx36/45(-/-) mice, but variable in other strains. They were mostly γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-immunoreactive (IR) and located in the GC layer. They comprised only a small portion in the AC subpopulations, including GABA-IR, glycine-IR, calretinin-IR, 5-HT-accumulating, and ON-type choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) ACs in wild-type and ChAT transgenic mice (ChAT- tdTomato). In the distal 80% of the inner plexiform layer (IPL), dense GC dendrites coexisted with rich glycine-IR and GABA-IR. In the inner 20% of the IPL, sparse GC dendrites presented with a major GABA band and sparse glycine-IR.

CONCLUSIONS

Various subtypes of ACs may couple to GCs. ACs of the same immunoreactivity may either couple or not couple to GCs. Cx36 and Cx45 dominate GC-AC coupling except for small ACs. The overall potency of GC-AC coupling is moderate, especially in the proximal 20% of the IPL, where inhibitory chemical signals are dominated by GABA ACs.

Gap junctional coupling in the vertebrate retina: variations on one theme?

Gap junctions connect cells in the bodies of all multicellular organisms, forming either homologous or heterologous (i.e. established between identical or different cell types, respectively) cell-to-cell contacts by utilizing identical (homotypic) or different (heterotypic) connexin protein subunits. Gap junctions in the nervous system serve electrical signaling between neurons, thus they are also called electrical synapses. Such electrical synapses are particularly abundant in the vertebrate retina where they are specialized to form links between neurons as well as glial cells. In this article, we summarize recent findings on retinal cell-to-cell coupling in different vertebrates and identify general features in the light of the evergrowing body of data. In particular, we describe and discuss tracer coupling patterns, connexin proteins, junctional conductances and modulatory processes. This multispecies comparison serves to point out that most features are remarkably conserved across the vertebrate classes, including (i) the cell types connected via electrical synapses; (ii) the connexin makeup and the conductance of each cell-to-cell contact; (iii) the probable function of each gap junction in retinal circuitry; (iv) the fact that gap junctions underlie both electrical and/or tracer coupling between glial cells. These pan-vertebrate features thus demonstrate that retinal gap junctions have changed little during the over 500 million years of vertebrate evolution. Therefore, the fundamental architecture of electrically coupled retinal circuits seems as old as the retina itself, indicating that gap junctions deeply incorporated in retinal wiring from the very beginning of the eye formation of vertebrates. In addition to hard wiring provided by fast synaptic transmitter-releasing neurons and soft wiring contributed by peptidergic, aminergic and purinergic systems, electrical coupling may serve as the 'skeleton' of lateral processing, enabling important functions such as signal averaging and synchronization.

Amacrine-to-amacrine cell inhibition: Spatiotemporal properties of GABA and glycine pathways

We measured the spatial and temporal properties of GABAergic and glycinergic inhibition to amacrine cells in the whole-mount rabbit retina. The amacrine cells were parsed into two morphological classes: narrow-field cells with processes spreading less than 200 μm and wide-field cells with processes extending more than 300 μm. The inhibition was also parsed into two types: sustained glycine and transient GABA. Narrow-field amacrine cells receive 1) very transient GABAergic inhibition with a fast onset latency of 140 ± 16 ms decaying to 30% of the peak level within 208 ± 27 ms elicited broadly over a lateral distance of up to 1500 μm and 2) sustained glycinergic inhibition with a medium onset latency of 286 ± 23 ms that was elicited over a spatial area often broader than the processes of the narrow-field amacrine cells. Wide-field amacrine cells received sustained glycinergic inhibition but no broad transient GABAergic inhibition. Surprisingly, neither of these amacrine cell classes received sustained local GABAergic inhibition, commonly found in an earlier study of ganglion cells.

Tracer coupling of intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells to amacrine cells in the mouse retina

Intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCs) are a subtype of ganglion cell in the mammalian retina that expresses the photopigment melanopsin and drives non-image-forming visual functions. Three morphological subtypes of ipRGCs (M1, M2, and M3) have been described based on their dendritic stratifications in the inner plexiform layer (IPL), but the question of their potential interactions via electrical coupling remains unsettled. In this study, we have addressed this question in the mouse retina by, injecting the tracer Neurobiotin into ipRGCs that had been genetically labelled with the fluorescent protein, tdTomato. We confirmed the presence of the M1-M3 subtypes of ipRGCs based on their distinct dendritic stratifications. All three subtypes were tracer coupled to putative amacrine cells situated within the ganglion cell layer (GCL) but not the inner nuclear layer (INL). The cells tracer coupled to the M1 and M2 cells were shown to be widefield GABA-immunoreactive amacrine cells. We found no evidence of homologous tracer coupling of ipRGCs or heterologous coupling to other types of ganglion cells.

The retinal hypercircuit: a repeating synaptic interactive motif underlying visual function

Abstract

The vertebrate retina generates a stack of about a dozen different movies that represent the visual world as dynamic neural images or movies. The stack is embodied as separate strata that span the inner plexiform layer (IPL). At each stratum, ganglion cell dendrites reach up to read out inhibitory interactions between three different amacrine cell classes that shape bipolar-to-ganglion cell transmission. The nexus of these five cell classes represents a functional module, a retinal ‘hypercircuit’, that is repeated across the surface of each of the dozen strata that span the depth of the IPL. Individual differences in the characteristics of each cell class at each stratum lead to the unique processing characteristics of each neural image throughout the stack. This review shows how the interactions between the morphological and physiological characteristics of each cell class generate many of the known retinal visual functions including motion detection, directional selectivity, local edge detection, looming detection, object motion and looming detection.

Regional distribution of nitrergic neurons in the inner retina of the chicken

Using both NADPH diaphorase and anti-nNOS antibodies, we have identified-from retinal flatmounts-neuronal types in the inner retina of the chicken that are likely to be nitrergic. The two methods gave similar results and yielded a total of 15 types of neurons, comprising 9 amacrine cells, 5 ganglion cells, and 1 centrifugal midbrain neuron. Six of these 15 cell types are ubiquitously distributed, comprising 3 amacrine cells, 2 displaced ganglion cells, and a presumed orthotopic ganglion cell. The remaining nine cell types are regionally restricted within the retina. As previously reported, efferent fibers of midbrain neurons and their postsynaptic partners, the unusual axon-bearing target amacrine cells, are entirely confined to the ventral retina. Also confined to the ventral retina, though with somewhat different distributions, are the "bullwhip" amacrine cells thought to be involved in eye growth, an orthotopic ganglion cell, and two types of large axon-bearing amacrine cells whose dendrites and axons lie in stratum 1 of the inner plexiform layer (IPL). Intracellular fills of these two cell types showed that only a minority of otherwise morphologically indistinguishable neurons are nitrergic. Two amacrine cells that branch throughout the IPL are confined to an equatorial band, and one small-field orthotopic ganglion cell that branches in the proximal IPL is entirely dorsal. These findings suggest that the retina uses different processing on different regions of the visual image, though the benefit of this is presently obscure.

Expression and modulation of connexin 30.2, a novel gap junction protein in the mouse retina

Mammalian retinae express multiple connexins that mediate the metabolic and electrical coupling of various cell types. In retinal neurons, only connexin 36, connexin 45, connexin 50, and connexin 57 have been described so far. Here, we present an analysis of a novel retinal connexin, connexin 30.2 (Cx30.2), and its regulation in the mouse retina. To analyze the expression of Cx30.2, we used a transgenic mouse line in which the coding region of Cx30.2 was replaced by lacZ reporter DNA. We detected the lacZ signal in the nuclei of neurons located in the inner nuclear layer and the ganglion cell layer (GCL). In this study, we focused on the GCL and characterized the morphology of the Cx30.2-expressing cells. Using immunocytochemistry and intracellular dye injections, we found six different types of Cx30.2-expressing ganglion cells: one type of ON-OFF, three types of OFF, and two types of ON ganglion cells; among the latter was the RG A1 type. We show that RG A1 cells were heterologously coupled to numerous displaced amacrine cells. Our results suggest that these gap junction channels may be heterotypic, involving Cx30.2 and a connexin yet unidentified in the mouse retina. Gap junction coupling can be modulated by protein kinases, a process that plays a major role in retinal adaptation. Therefore, we studied the protein kinase-induced modulation of coupling between RG A1 and displaced amacrine cells. Our data provide evidence that coupling of RG A1 cells to displaced amacrine cells is mediated by Cx30.2 and that the extent of this coupling is modulated by protein kinase C.

Synaptic and membrane properties of parasympathetic ganglionic neurons innervating mouse trachea and bronchi

The pathophysiology of airway diseases, such as asthma, is increasingly studied using transgenic mice and other mouse models of airway inflammation where allergen-induced changes in airway smooth muscle tone and mucous secretion is due, in part, to activation of preganglionic airway parasympathetic nerves. Ganglionic parasympathetic neurons located in the airways in several species, including humans, have anatomical and electrophysiological properties that limit transmission of preganglionic synaptic input. In this study, intracellular recordings were made from neurons in parasympathetic ganglia located on the trachea and bronchi of adult mice to determine electrophysiological properties associated with regulation of transmission of preganglionic input. Ganglionic neurons were characterized as having either tonic or phasic action potential accommodation patterns. Tonic neurons responded with repetitive action potentials sustained throughout a depolarizing current step, whereas phasic neurons generated one or a burst of action potential(s) and accommodated. A small subset displayed both patterns. Phasic neurons could be further differentiated as usually having either short- or long-duration afterhyperpolarizing potential following single and multiple action potentials. In most cells, stimulation of preganglionic nerves elicited one population of nicotinic fast excitatory postsynaptic potentials that were graded in amplitude, usually suprathreshold for action potential generation, and did not decrease in amplitude during higher frequency stimulation. Dye injection into the neurons revealed that dendrites were either absent or very short. These results provide evidence that in contrast to the characteristics of airway parasympathetic neurons reported in other species, including human, the electrophysiological and synaptic properties, and anatomical characteristics of mouse lower airway ganglionic neurons, are less associated with integration of presynaptic input.

A retinal circuit that computes object motion

Certain ganglion cells in the retina respond sensitively to differential motion between the receptive field center and surround, as produced by an object moving over the background, but are strongly suppressed by global image motion, as produced by the observer's head or eye movements. We investigated the circuit basis for this object motion sensitive (OMS) response by recording intracellularly from all classes of retinal interneurons while simultaneously recording the spiking output of many ganglion cells. Fast, transient bipolar cells respond linearly to motion in the receptive field center. The synaptic output from their terminals is rectified and then pooled by the OMS ganglion cell. A type of polyaxonal amacrine cell is driven by motion in the surround, again via pooling of rectified inputs, but from a different set of bipolar cell terminals. By direct intracellular current injection, we found that these polyaxonal amacrine cells selectively suppress the synaptic input of OMS ganglion cells. A quantitative model of these circuit elements and their interactions explains how an important visual computation is accomplished by retinal neurons and synapses.

Amacrine-to-amacrine cell inhibition in the rabbit retina

We studied the interactions between excitation and inhibition in morphologically identified amacrine cells in the light-adapted rabbit retinal slice under patch clamp. The majority of on amacrine cells received glycinergic off inhibition. About half of the off amacrine cells received glycinergic on inhibition. Neither class received any GABAergic inhibition. A minority of on, off, and on-off amacrine cells received both glycinergic on and GABAergic off inhibition. These interactions were found in cells with diverse morphologies having both wide and narrow processes that stratify in single or multiple layers of the inner plexiform layer (IPL). Most on-off amacrine cells received no inhibition and have monostratified processes confined to the middle of the IPL. The most common interaction between amacrine cells that we measured was "crossover inhibition," where off inhibits on and on inhibits off. Although the morphology of amacrine cells is diverse, the interactions between excitation and inhibition appear to be relatively limited and specific.

Retinal encoding of ultrabrief shape recognition cues

Shape encoding mechanisms can be probed by the sequential brief display of dots that mark the boundary of the shape, and delays of less that a millisecond between successive dots can impair recognition. It is not entirely clear whether this is accomplished by preserving stimulus timing in the signal being sent to the brain, or calls for a retinal binding mechanism. Two experiments manipulated the degree of simultaneity among and within dot pairs, requiring also that the pair members be in the same half of the visual field or on opposite halves, i.e., across the midline from one another. Recognition performance was impaired the same for these two conditions. The results make it likely that simultaneity of cues is being registered within the retina. A potential mechanism is suggested, calling for linkage of stimulated sites through activation of PA1 cells. A third experiment confirmed a prior finding that the overall level of recognition deficit is partly a function of display-set size, and affirmed submillisecond resolution in binding dot pairs into effective shape-recognition cues.

Functional polarity of dendrites and axons of primate A1 amacrine cells

The A1 cell is an axon-bearing amacrine cell of the primate retina with a diffusely stratified, moderately branched dendritic tree (approximately 400 microm diameter). Axons arise from proximal dendrites forming a second concentric, larger arborization (>4 mm diameter) of thin processes with bouton-like swellings along their length. A1 cells are ON-OFF transient cells that fire a brief high frequency burst of action potentials in response to light (Stafford & Dacey, 1997). It has been hypothesized that A1 cells receive local input to their dendrites, with action potentials propagating output via the axons across the retina, serving a global inhibitory function. To explore this hypothesis we recorded intracellularly from A1 cells in an in vitro macaque monkey retina preparation. A1 cells have an antagonistic center-surround receptive field structure for the ON and OFF components of the light response. Blocking the ON pathway with L-AP4 eliminated ON center responses but not OFF center responses or ON or OFF surround responses. Blocking GABAergic inhibition with picrotoxin increased response amplitudes without affecting receptive field structure. TTX abolished action potentials, with little effect on the sub-threshold light response or basic receptive field structure. We also used multi-photon laser scanning microscopy to record light-induced calcium transients in morphologically identified dendrites and axons of A1 cells. TTX completely abolished such calcium transients in the axons but not in the dendrites. Together these results support the current model of A1 function, whereby the dendritic tree receives synaptic input that determines the center-surround receptive field; and action potentials arise in the axons, which propagate away from the dendritic field across the retina.

A novel fluorescent tracer for visualizing coupled cells in neural circuits of living tissue

Gap junctions have diverse roles in a wide variety of tissues and have recently become a subject of intense investigation in neural circuits where synchrony and oscillations may play an important part. In circuits where gap junctions are present, the possibility arises of identifying intercommunicating cells via introduction of tracer into one cell and observing its spread into its coupled neighbors. Staining the coupled cells by this means opens the door to many vital techniques including paired-cell electrophysiology, RT-PCR, and morphological characterization of previously unknown coupled cells. Tracers commonly used at the present time are not generally suitable for these purposes in many tissues, including neurons. This paper describes how a fluorescent nuclear tracer, Po-pro-1, can be used to visualize coupled cells in several types of retinal neurons thought to be comprised of different connexin proteins including Cx36, Cx45, Cx50, and Cx57.

Calcium increases in retinal glial cells evoked by light-induced neuronal activity

Electrical stimulation of neurons in brain slices evokes increases in cytoplasmic Ca(2+) in neighboring astrocytes. The present study tests whether similar neuron-to-glial signaling occurs in the isolated rat retina in response to light stimulation. Results demonstrate that Müller cells, the principal retinal glial cells, generate transient increases in Ca(2+) under constant illumination. A flickering light stimulus increases the occurrence of these Ca(2+) transients. Antidromic activation of ganglion cell axons also increases the generation of Müller cell Ca(2+) transients. The increases in Ca(2+) transients evoked by light and antidromic stimulation are blocked by the purinergic antagonist suramin and by TTX. The addition of adenosine greatly potentiates the response to light, with light ON evoking large Ca(2+) increases in Müller cells. Suramin, apyrase (an ATP-hydrolyzing enzyme), and TTX substantially reduce the adenosine-potentiated response. NMDA, metabotropic glutamate, GABA(B), and muscarinic receptor antagonists, in contrast, are mainly ineffective in blocking the response. Light-evoked Ca(2+) responses begin in Müller cell processes within the inner plexiform (synaptic) layer of the retina and then spread into cell endfeet at the inner retinal surface. These results represent the first demonstration that Ca(2+) increases in CNS glia can be evoked by a natural stimulus (light flashes). The results suggest that neuron-to-glia signaling in the retina is mediated by neuronal release of ATP, most likely from amacrine and/or ganglion cells, and that the response is augmented under pathological conditions when adenosine levels increase.

Populations of wide-field amacrine cells in the mouse retina

We surveyed wide-field amacrine cells in the mouse, using a large series of retinas from a transgenic strain that expresses the green fluorescent protein (GFP) in isolated retinal cells. Wide-field cells were present in surprising diversity and number. They formed groups that could be defined by arbor depth, arbor size, and soma size. By conventional criteria, these populations of cells make up 11 amacrine cell "types." Five additional types have been reported by others in the mouse. Roughly two-thirds of the wide-field amacrine cells are axon-bearing cells, which have separate dendritic and axonal arbors. The axonal arbor of a single cell sometimes covers the majority of the retinal surface. The axon-bearing cells appear to be centrifugally conducting neurons similar to those studied electrophysiologically in some other species. Although they are classified as independent morphological types, it seems likely that their physiological functions represent variations on a single organizational plan. These cells are present at every level of the inner plexiform layer, which suggests that they affect most of the mouse retina's final outputs to the brain and, by implication, almost all visual function.

Tracer coupling of neurons in the rat retina inner nuclear layer labeled by Fluorogold

A subpopulation of neurons in the inner nuclear layer (INL) of the rat retina were labeled 9-13 weeks after application of Fluorogold (FG) to the superior colliculus. Neurobiotin injection of FG-labeled cells in the INL of flatmounted living retina revealed that these cells consisted of both displaced ganglion cells and a subset of amacrine cells. Fluorogold-labeled amacrine cells in the INL showed tracer coupling to other presumptive amacrine cells in the INL, but there was no evidence of coupling to neurons in the ganglion cell layer (GCL). As the labeling of amacrine cells by FG may be due to gap junction coupling between ganglion and amacrine cells, these data add to the evidence that tracer coupling between these cells can be unidirectional. Some of the FG-labeled displaced ganglion cells in the INL injected with Neurobiotin also showed tracer coupling to neurons in the INL or GCL.