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D’Gama PP, Jeong I, Nygård AM, Trinh AT, Yaksi E, Jurisch-Yaksi N. Ciliogenesis defects after neurulation impact brain development and neuronal activity in larval zebrafish. iScience 2024; 27:110078. [PMID: 38868197 PMCID: PMC11167523 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2024.110078] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2023] [Revised: 03/06/2024] [Accepted: 05/19/2024] [Indexed: 06/14/2024] Open
Abstract
Cilia are slender, hair-like structures extending from cell surfaces and playing essential roles in diverse physiological processes. Within the nervous system, primary cilia contribute to signaling and sensory perception, while motile cilia facilitate cerebrospinal fluid flow. Here, we investigated the impact of ciliary loss on neural circuit development using a zebrafish line displaying ciliogenesis defects. We found that cilia defects after neurulation affect neurogenesis and brain morphology, especially in the cerebellum, and lead to altered gene expression profiles. Using whole brain calcium imaging, we measured reduced light-evoked and spontaneous neuronal activity in all brain regions. By shedding light on the intricate role of cilia in neural circuit formation and function in the zebrafish, our work highlights their evolutionary conserved role in the brain and sets the stage for future analysis of ciliopathy models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Percival P. D’Gama
- Department of Clinical and Molecular Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Erling Skalgssons gate 1, 7030 Trondheim, Norway
| | - Inyoung Jeong
- Department of Clinical and Molecular Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Erling Skalgssons gate 1, 7030 Trondheim, Norway
| | - Andreas Moe Nygård
- Department of Clinical and Molecular Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Erling Skalgssons gate 1, 7030 Trondheim, Norway
| | - Anh-Tuan Trinh
- Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience and Centre for Algorithms in the Cortex, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Olav Kyrres Gate 9, 7030 Trondheim, Norway
| | - Emre Yaksi
- Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience and Centre for Algorithms in the Cortex, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Olav Kyrres Gate 9, 7030 Trondheim, Norway
- Koç University Research Center for Translational Medicine, Koç University School of Medicine, Davutpaşa Caddesi, No:4, Topkapı 34010, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Nathalie Jurisch-Yaksi
- Department of Clinical and Molecular Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Erling Skalgssons gate 1, 7030 Trondheim, Norway
- Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience and Centre for Algorithms in the Cortex, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Olav Kyrres Gate 9, 7030 Trondheim, Norway
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2
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Hunt JE, Pratt KG, Molnár Z. Ocular Necessities: A Neuroethological Perspective on Vertebrate Visual Development. BRAIN, BEHAVIOR AND EVOLUTION 2024; 99:96-108. [PMID: 38447544 PMCID: PMC11152017 DOI: 10.1159/000536035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2023] [Accepted: 12/24/2023] [Indexed: 03/08/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND By examining species-specific innate behaviours, neuroethologists have characterized unique neural strategies and specializations from throughout the animal kingdom. Simultaneously, the field of evolutionary developmental biology (informally, "evo-devo") seeks to make inferences about animals' evolutionary histories through careful comparison of developmental processes between species, because evolution is the evolution of development. Yet despite the shared focus on cross-species comparisons, there is surprisingly little crosstalk between these two fields. Insights can be gleaned at the intersection of neuroethology and evo-devo. Every animal develops within an environment, wherein ecological pressures advantage some behaviours and disadvantage others. These pressures are reflected in the neurodevelopmental strategies employed by different animals across taxa. SUMMARY Vision is a system of particular interest for studying the adaptation of animals to their environments. The visual system enables a wide variety of animals across the vertebrate lineage to interact with their environments, presenting a fantastic opportunity to examine how ecological pressures have shaped animals' behaviours and developmental strategies. Applying a neuroethological lens to the study of visual development, we advance a novel theory that accounts for the evolution of spontaneous retinal waves, an important phenomenon in the development of the visual system, across the vertebrate lineage. KEY MESSAGES We synthesize literature on spontaneous retinal waves from across the vertebrate lineage. We find that ethological considerations explain some cross-species differences in the dynamics of retinal waves. In zebrafish, retinal waves may be more important for the development of the retina itself, rather than the retinofugal projections. We additionally suggest empirical tests to determine whether Xenopus laevis experiences retinal waves.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jasper Elan Hunt
- Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Kara Geo Pratt
- Department of Zoology and Physiology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, USA
- Program in Neuroscience, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, USA
| | - Zoltán Molnár
- Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
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3
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Wolterhoff N, Hiesinger PR. Synaptic promiscuity in brain development. Curr Biol 2024; 34:R102-R116. [PMID: 38320473 PMCID: PMC10849093 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.12.037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/08/2024]
Abstract
Precise synaptic connectivity is a prerequisite for the function of neural circuits, yet individual neurons, taken out of their developmental context, readily form unspecific synapses. How does the genome encode brain wiring in light of this apparent contradiction? Synaptic specificity is the outcome of a long series of developmental processes and mechanisms before, during and after synapse formation. How much promiscuity is permissible or necessary at the moment of synaptic partner choice depends on the extent to which prior development restricts available partners or subsequent development corrects initially made synapses. Synaptic promiscuity at the moment of choice can thereby play important roles in the development of precise connectivity, but also facilitate developmental flexibility and robustness. In this review, we assess the experimental evidence for the prevalence and roles of promiscuous synapse formation during brain development. Many well-established experimental approaches are based on developmental genetic perturbation and an assessment of synaptic connectivity only in the adult; this can make it difficult to pinpoint when a given defect or mechanism occurred. In many cases, such studies reveal mechanisms that restrict partner availability already prior to synapse formation. Subsequently, at the moment of choice, factors including synaptic competency, interaction dynamics and molecular recognition further restrict synaptic partners. The discussion of the development of synaptic specificity through the lens of synaptic promiscuity suggests an algorithmic process based on neurons capable of promiscuous synapse formation that are continuously prevented from making the wrong choices, with no single mechanism or developmental time point sufficient to explain the outcome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Neele Wolterhoff
- Division of Neurobiology, Free University Berlin, 14195 Berlin, Germany
| | - P Robin Hiesinger
- Division of Neurobiology, Free University Berlin, 14195 Berlin, Germany.
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4
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Ligeralde A, Kuang Y, Yerxa TE, Pitcher MN, Feller M, Chung S. Unsupervised learning on spontaneous retinal activity leads to efficient neural representation geometry. ARXIV 2023:arXiv:2312.02791v1. [PMID: 38106456 PMCID: PMC10723543] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2023]
Abstract
Prior to the onset of vision, neurons in the developing mammalian retina spontaneously fire in correlated activity patterns known as retinal waves. Experimental evidence suggests that retinal waves strongly influence the emergence of sensory representations before visual experience. We aim to model this early stage of functional development by using movies of neurally active developing retinas as pre-training data for neural networks. Specifically, we pre-train a ResNet-18 with an unsupervised contrastive learning objective (SimCLR) on both simulated and experimentally-obtained movies of retinal waves, then evaluate its performance on image classification tasks. We find that pre-training on retinal waves significantly improves performance on tasks that test object invariance to spatial translation, while slightly improving performance on more complex tasks like image classification. Notably, these performance boosts are realized on held-out natural images even though the pre-training procedure does not include any natural image data. We then propose a geometrical explanation for the increase in network performance, namely that the spatiotemporal characteristics of retinal waves facilitate the formation of separable feature representations. In particular, we demonstrate that networks pre-trained on retinal waves are more effective at separating image manifolds than randomly initialized networks, especially for manifolds defined by sets of spatial translations. These findings indicate that the broad spatiotemporal properties of retinal waves prepare networks for higher order feature extraction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew Ligeralde
- Biophysics Graduate Group, University of California, Berkeley
- Center for Computational Neuroscience, Flatiron Institute
| | - Yilun Kuang
- Center for Computational Neuroscience, Flatiron Institute
- Courant Inst. of Mathematical Sciences, New York University
| | - Thomas Edward Yerxa
- Center for Computational Neuroscience, Flatiron Institute
- Center for Neural Science, New York University
| | - Miah N Pitcher
- Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley
| | - Marla Feller
- Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley
| | - SueYeon Chung
- Center for Computational Neuroscience, Flatiron Institute
- Center for Neural Science, New York University
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5
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Aimino MA, Humenik J, Parisi MJ, Duhart JC, Mosca TJ. SynLight: a bicistronic strategy for simultaneous active zone and cell labeling in the Drosophila nervous system. G3 (BETHESDA, MD.) 2023; 13:jkad221. [PMID: 37757863 PMCID: PMC10627267 DOI: 10.1093/g3journal/jkad221] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2023] [Revised: 07/14/2023] [Accepted: 09/17/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023]
Abstract
At synapses, chemical neurotransmission mediates the exchange of information between neurons, leading to complex movement, behaviors, and stimulus processing. The immense number and variety of neurons within the nervous system make discerning individual neuron populations difficult, necessitating the development of advanced neuronal labeling techniques. In Drosophila, Bruchpilot-Short and mCD8-GFP, which label presynaptic active zones and neuronal membranes, respectively, have been widely used to study synapse development and organization. This labeling is often achieved via the expression of 2 independent constructs by a single binary expression system, but expression can weaken when multiple transgenes are expressed by a single driver. Recent work has sought to circumvent these drawbacks by developing methods that encode multiple proteins from a single transcript. Self-cleaving peptides, specifically 2A peptides, have emerged as effective sequences for accomplishing this task. We leveraged 2A ribosomal skipping peptides to engineer a construct that produces both Bruchpilot-Short-mStraw and mCD8-GFP from the same mRNA, which we named SynLight. Using SynLight, we visualized the putative synaptic active zones and membranes of multiple classes of olfactory, visual, and motor neurons and observed the correct separation of signal, confirming that both proteins are being generated separately. Furthermore, we demonstrate proof of principle by quantifying synaptic puncta number and neurite volume in olfactory neurons and finding no difference between the synapse densities of neurons expressing SynLight or neurons expressing both transgenes separately. At the neuromuscular junction, we determined that the synaptic puncta number labeled by SynLight was comparable to the endogenous puncta labeled by antibody staining. Overall, SynLight is a versatile tool for examining synapse density in any nervous system region of interest and allows new questions to be answered about synaptic development and organization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael A Aimino
- Department of Neuroscience, Vickie and Jack Farber Institute of Neuroscience, Thomas Jefferson University, Bluemle Life Sciences Building, Philadelphia, PA 19107, USA
| | - Jesse Humenik
- Department of Neuroscience, Vickie and Jack Farber Institute of Neuroscience, Thomas Jefferson University, Bluemle Life Sciences Building, Philadelphia, PA 19107, USA
| | - Michael J Parisi
- Department of Neuroscience, Vickie and Jack Farber Institute of Neuroscience, Thomas Jefferson University, Bluemle Life Sciences Building, Philadelphia, PA 19107, USA
| | - Juan Carlos Duhart
- Department of Neuroscience, Vickie and Jack Farber Institute of Neuroscience, Thomas Jefferson University, Bluemle Life Sciences Building, Philadelphia, PA 19107, USA
| | - Timothy J Mosca
- Department of Neuroscience, Vickie and Jack Farber Institute of Neuroscience, Thomas Jefferson University, Bluemle Life Sciences Building, Philadelphia, PA 19107, USA
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6
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Aimino MA, Humenik J, Parisi MJ, Duhart JC, Mosca TJ. SynLight: a dicistronic strategy for simultaneous active zone and cell labeling in the Drosophila nervous system. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.07.17.549367. [PMID: 37502901 PMCID: PMC10370149 DOI: 10.1101/2023.07.17.549367] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/29/2023]
Abstract
At synapses, chemical neurotransmission mediates the exchange of information between neurons, leading to complex movement behaviors and stimulus processing. The immense number and variety of neurons within the nervous system makes discerning individual neuron populations difficult, necessitating the development of advanced neuronal labeling techniques. In Drosophila , Bruchpilot-Short and mCD8-GFP, which label presynaptic active zones and neuronal membranes, respectively, have been widely used to study synapse development and organization. This labeling is often achieved via expression of two independent constructs by a single binary expression system, but expression can weaken when multiple transgenes are expressed by a single driver. Ensuring adequate expression of each transgene is essential to enable more complex experiments; as such, work has sought to circumvent these drawbacks by developing methods that encode multiple proteins from a single transcript. Self-cleaving peptides, specifically 2A peptides, have emerged as effective sequences for accomplishing this task. We leveraged 2A ribosomal skipping peptides to engineer a construct that produces both Bruchpilot-Short and mCD8-GFP from the same mRNA, which we named SynLight. Using SynLight, we visualized the putative synaptic active zones and membranes of multiple classes of olfactory, visual, and motor neurons and observed correct separation of signal, confirming that both proteins are being generated separately. Furthermore, we demonstrate proof-of-principle by quantifying synaptic puncta number and neurite volume in olfactory neurons and finding no difference between the synapse densities of neurons expressing SynLight or neurons expressing both transgenes separately. At the neuromuscular junction, we determined that synaptic puncta number labeled by SynLight was comparable to endogenous puncta labeled by antibody staining. Overall, SynLight is a versatile tool for examining synapse density in any nervous system region of interest and allows new questions to be answered about synaptic development and organization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael A. Aimino
- Department of Neuroscience, Vickie and Jack Farber Institute of Neuroscience, Thomas Jefferson University, Bluemle Life Sciences Building, Philadelphia, PA 19107
| | - Jesse Humenik
- Department of Neuroscience, Vickie and Jack Farber Institute of Neuroscience, Thomas Jefferson University, Bluemle Life Sciences Building, Philadelphia, PA 19107
| | - Michael J. Parisi
- Department of Neuroscience, Vickie and Jack Farber Institute of Neuroscience, Thomas Jefferson University, Bluemle Life Sciences Building, Philadelphia, PA 19107
| | - Juan Carlos Duhart
- Department of Neuroscience, Vickie and Jack Farber Institute of Neuroscience, Thomas Jefferson University, Bluemle Life Sciences Building, Philadelphia, PA 19107
| | - Timothy J. Mosca
- Department of Neuroscience, Vickie and Jack Farber Institute of Neuroscience, Thomas Jefferson University, Bluemle Life Sciences Building, Philadelphia, PA 19107
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7
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Maruyama T, Ishii T, Kaneda M. Starburst amacrine cells form gap junctions in the early postnatal stage of the mouse retina. Front Cell Neurosci 2023; 17:1173579. [PMID: 37293630 PMCID: PMC10244514 DOI: 10.3389/fncel.2023.1173579] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2023] [Accepted: 05/03/2023] [Indexed: 06/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Although gap junctional coupling in the developing retina is important for the maturation of neuronal networks, its role in the development of individual neurons remains unclear. Therefore, we herein investigated whether gap junctional coupling by starburst amacrine cells (SACs), a key neuron for the formation of direction selectivity, occurs during the developmental stage in the mouse retina. Neurobiotin-injected SACs coupled with many neighboring cells before eye-opening. The majority of tracer-coupled cells were retinal ganglion cells, and tracer coupling was not detected between SACs. The number of tracer-coupled cells significantly decreased after eye-opening and mostly disappeared by postnatal day 28 (P28). Membrane capacitance (Cm), an indicator of the formation of electrical coupling with gap junctions, was larger in SACs before than after eye-opening. The application of meclofenamic acid, a gap junction blocker, reduced the Cm of SACs. Gap junctional coupling by SACs was regulated by dopamine D1 receptors before eye-opening. In contrast, the reduction in gap junctional coupling after eye-opening was not affected by visual experience. At the mRNA level, 4 subtypes of connexins (23, 36, 43, and 45) were detected in SACs before eye-opening. Connexin 43 expression levels significantly decreased after eye-opening. These results indicate that gap junctional coupling by SACs occurs during the developmental period and suggest that the elimination of gap junctions proceeds with the innate system.
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8
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Parisi MJ, Aimino MA, Mosca TJ. A conditional strategy for cell-type-specific labeling of endogenous excitatory synapses in Drosophila. CELL REPORTS METHODS 2023; 3:100477. [PMID: 37323572 PMCID: PMC10261928 DOI: 10.1016/j.crmeth.2023.100477] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2022] [Revised: 02/28/2023] [Accepted: 04/19/2023] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Chemical neurotransmission occurs at specialized contacts where neurotransmitter release machinery apposes neurotransmitter receptors to underlie circuit function. A series of complex events underlies pre- and postsynaptic protein recruitment to neuronal connections. To better study synaptic development in individual neurons, we need cell-type-specific strategies to visualize endogenous synaptic proteins. Although presynaptic strategies exist, postsynaptic proteins remain less studied because of a paucity of cell-type-specific reagents. To study excitatory postsynapses with cell-type specificity, we engineered dlg1[4K], a conditionally labeled marker of Drosophila excitatory postsynaptic densities. With binary expression systems, dlg1[4K] labels central and peripheral postsynapses in larvae and adults. Using dlg1[4K], we find that distinct rules govern postsynaptic organization in adult neurons, multiple binary expression systems can concurrently label pre- and postsynapse in a cell-type-specific manner, and neuronal DLG1 can sometimes localize presynaptically. These results validate our strategy for conditional postsynaptic labeling and demonstrate principles of synaptic organization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael J. Parisi
- Department of Neuroscience, Vickie and Jack Farber Institute of Neuroscience, Thomas Jefferson University, Bluemle Life Sciences Building, Philadelphia, PA 19107, USA
| | - Michael A. Aimino
- Department of Neuroscience, Vickie and Jack Farber Institute of Neuroscience, Thomas Jefferson University, Bluemle Life Sciences Building, Philadelphia, PA 19107, USA
| | - Timothy J. Mosca
- Department of Neuroscience, Vickie and Jack Farber Institute of Neuroscience, Thomas Jefferson University, Bluemle Life Sciences Building, Philadelphia, PA 19107, USA
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9
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Voufo C, Chen AQ, Smith BE, Yan R, Feller MB, Tiriac A. Circuit mechanisms underlying embryonic retinal waves. eLife 2023; 12:e81983. [PMID: 36790167 PMCID: PMC9988258 DOI: 10.7554/elife.81983] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2022] [Accepted: 02/13/2023] [Indexed: 02/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Spontaneous activity is a hallmark of developing neural systems. In the retina, spontaneous activity comes in the form of retinal waves, comprised of three stages persisting from embryonic day 16 (E16) to eye opening at postnatal day 14 (P14). Though postnatal retinal waves have been well characterized, little is known about the spatiotemporal properties or the mechanisms mediating embryonic retinal waves, designated stage 1 waves. Using a custom-built macroscope to record spontaneous calcium transients from whole embryonic retinas, we show that stage 1 waves are initiated at several locations across the retina and propagate across a broad range of areas. Blocking gap junctions reduced the frequency and size of stage 1 waves, nearly abolishing them. Global blockade of nAChRs similarly nearly abolished stage 1 waves. Thus, stage 1 waves are mediated by a complex circuitry involving subtypes of nAChRs and gap junctions. Stage 1 waves in mice lacking the β2 subunit of the nAChRs (β2-nAChR-KO) persisted with altered propagation properties and were abolished by a gap junction blocker. To assay the impact of stage 1 waves on retinal development, we compared the spatial distribution of a subtype of retinal ganglion cells, intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCs), which undergo a significant amount of cell death, in WT and β2-nAChR-KO mice. We found that the developmental decrease in ipRGC density is preserved between WT and β2-nAChR-KO mice, indicating that processes regulating ipRGC numbers and distributions are not influenced by spontaneous activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christiane Voufo
- Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, BerkeleyBerkeleyUnited States
| | - Andy Quaen Chen
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, BerkeleyBerkeleyUnited States
| | - Benjamin E Smith
- School of Optometry, University of California, BerkeleyBerkeleyUnited States
| | - Rongshan Yan
- Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, BerkeleyBerkeleyUnited States
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, BerkeleyBerkeleyUnited States
| | - Marla B Feller
- Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, BerkeleyBerkeleyUnited States
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, BerkeleyBerkeleyUnited States
| | - Alexandre Tiriac
- Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, BerkeleyBerkeleyUnited States
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, BerkeleyBerkeleyUnited States
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10
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Sheardown E, Mech AM, Petrazzini MEM, Leggieri A, Gidziela A, Hosseinian S, Sealy IM, Torres-Perez JV, Busch-Nentwich EM, Malanchini M, Brennan CH. Translational relevance of forward genetic screens in animal models for the study of psychiatric disease. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2022; 135:104559. [PMID: 35124155 PMCID: PMC9016269 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104559] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2021] [Revised: 12/10/2021] [Accepted: 02/01/2022] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Psychiatric disorders represent a significant burden in our societies. Despite the convincing evidence pointing at gene and gene-environment interaction contributions, the role of genetics in the etiology of psychiatric disease is still poorly understood. Forward genetic screens in animal models have helped elucidate causal links. Here we discuss the application of mutagenesis-based forward genetic approaches in common animal model species: two invertebrates, nematodes (Caenorhabditis elegans) and fruit flies (Drosophila sp.); and two vertebrates, zebrafish (Danio rerio) and mice (Mus musculus), in relation to psychiatric disease. We also discuss the use of large scale genomic studies in human populations. Despite the advances using data from human populations, animal models coupled with next-generation sequencing strategies are still needed. Although with its own limitations, zebrafish possess characteristics that make them especially well-suited to forward genetic studies exploring the etiology of psychiatric disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eva Sheardown
- School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, Mile End Road, London E1 4NS, England, UK
| | - Aleksandra M Mech
- School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, Mile End Road, London E1 4NS, England, UK
| | | | - Adele Leggieri
- School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, Mile End Road, London E1 4NS, England, UK
| | - Agnieszka Gidziela
- School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, Mile End Road, London E1 4NS, England, UK
| | - Saeedeh Hosseinian
- School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, Mile End Road, London E1 4NS, England, UK
| | - Ian M Sealy
- Cambridge Institute of Therapeutic Immunology & Infectious Disease (CITIID), Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Jose V Torres-Perez
- UK Dementia Research Institute at Imperial College London and Department of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London, 86 Wood Lane, London W12 0BZ, UK
| | - Elisabeth M Busch-Nentwich
- School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, Mile End Road, London E1 4NS, England, UK
| | - Margherita Malanchini
- School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, Mile End Road, London E1 4NS, England, UK
| | - Caroline H Brennan
- School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, Mile End Road, London E1 4NS, England, UK.
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11
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Tworig JM, Feller MB. Müller Glia in Retinal Development: From Specification to Circuit Integration. Front Neural Circuits 2022; 15:815923. [PMID: 35185477 PMCID: PMC8856507 DOI: 10.3389/fncir.2021.815923] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2021] [Accepted: 12/23/2021] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Müller glia of the retina share many features with astroglia located throughout the brain including maintenance of homeostasis, modulation of neurotransmitter spillover, and robust response to injury. Here we present the molecular factors and signaling events that govern Müller glial specification, patterning, and differentiation. Next, we discuss the various roles of Müller glia in retinal development, which include maintaining retinal organization and integrity as well as promoting neuronal survival, synaptogenesis, and phagocytosis of debris. Finally, we review the mechanisms by which Müller glia integrate into retinal circuits and actively participate in neuronal signaling during development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joshua M. Tworig
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States
- *Correspondence: Joshua M. Tworig,
| | - Marla B. Feller
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States
- Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States
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12
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Human face and gaze perception is highly context specific and involves bottom-up and top-down neural processing. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2021; 132:304-323. [PMID: 34861296 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.11.042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2021] [Revised: 11/24/2021] [Accepted: 11/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
This review summarizes human perception and processing of face and gaze signals. Face and gaze signals are important means of non-verbal social communication. The review highlights that: (1) some evidence is available suggesting that the perception and processing of facial information starts in the prenatal period; (2) the perception and processing of face identity, expression and gaze direction is highly context specific, the effect of race and culture being a case in point. Culture affects by means of experiential shaping and social categorization the way in which information on face and gaze is collected and perceived; (3) face and gaze processing occurs in the so-called 'social brain'. Accumulating evidence suggests that the processing of facial identity, facial emotional expression and gaze involves two parallel and interacting pathways: a fast and crude subcortical route and a slower cortical pathway. The flow of information is bi-directional and includes bottom-up and top-down processing. The cortical networks particularly include the fusiform gyrus, superior temporal sulcus (STS), intraparietal sulcus, temporoparietal junction and medial prefrontal cortex.
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13
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Ready DF, Chang HC. Calcium waves facilitate and coordinate the contraction of endfeet actin stress fibers in Drosophila interommatidial cells. Development 2021; 148:272616. [PMID: 34698814 DOI: 10.1242/dev.199700] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2021] [Accepted: 10/18/2021] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
Actomyosin contraction shapes the Drosophila eye's panoramic view. The convex curvature of the retinal epithelium, organized in ∼800 close-packed ommatidia, depends upon a fourfold condensation of the retinal floor mediated by contraction of actin stress fibers in the endfeet of interommatidial cells (IOCs). How these tensile forces are coordinated is not known. Here, we discover a novel phenomenon: Ca2+ waves regularly propagate across the IOC network in pupal and adult eyes. Genetic evidence demonstrates that IOC waves are independent of phototransduction, but require inositol 1,4,5-triphosphate receptor (IP3R), suggesting these waves are mediated by Ca2+ releases from ER stores. Removal of IP3R disrupts stress fibers in IOC endfeet and increases the basal retinal surface by ∼40%, linking IOC waves to facilitating stress fiber contraction and floor morphogenesis. Further, IP3R loss disrupts the organization of a collagen IV network underneath the IOC endfeet, implicating ECM and its interaction with stress fibers in eye morphogenesis. We propose that coordinated cytosolic Ca2+ increases in IOC waves promote stress fiber contractions, ensuring an organized application of the planar tensile forces that condense the retinal floor.
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Affiliation(s)
- Donald F Ready
- Department of Biological Sciences, Purdue University, 915 West State Street, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907-2054, USA
| | - Henry C Chang
- Department of Biological Sciences, Purdue University, 915 West State Street, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907-2054, USA
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