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Quint WH, Tadema KCD, de Vrieze E, Lukowicz RM, Broekman S, Winkelman BHJ, Hoevenaars M, de Gruiter HM, van Wijk E, Schaeffel F, Meester-Smoor M, Miller AC, Willemsen R, Klaver CCW, Iglesias AI. Loss of Gap Junction Delta-2 (GJD2) gene orthologs leads to refractive error in zebrafish. Commun Biol 2021; 4:676. [PMID: 34083742 PMCID: PMC8175550 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-021-02185-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2020] [Accepted: 05/04/2021] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Myopia is the most common developmental disorder of juvenile eyes, and it has become an increasing cause of severe visual impairment. The GJD2 locus has been consistently associated with myopia in multiple independent genome-wide association studies. However, despite the strong genetic evidence, little is known about the functional role of GJD2 in refractive error development. Here, we find that depletion of gjd2a (Cx35.5) or gjd2b (Cx35.1) orthologs in zebrafish, cause changes in the biometry and refractive status of the eye. Our immunohistological and scRNA sequencing studies show that Cx35.5 (gjd2a) is a retinal connexin and its depletion leads to hyperopia and electrophysiological changes in the retina. These findings support a role for Cx35.5 (gjd2a) in the regulation of ocular biometry. Cx35.1 (gjd2b) has previously been identified in the retina, however, we found an additional lenticular role. Lack of Cx35.1 (gjd2b) led to a nuclear cataract that triggered axial elongation. Our results provide functional evidence of a link between gjd2 and refractive error. Quint et al. use zebrafish lines deficient in one of two orthologs of the Gap Junction Delta-2 (GJD2) gene, which is associated with myopia by genome-wide association studies. They link gjd2 with refractive error and report evidence to suggest that gjd2a plays a role in ocular biometry whilst gjd2b, previously found in the retina, possesses an additional lenticular role.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wim H Quint
- Department of Ophthalmology, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. .,Department of Clinical Genetics, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
| | - Kirke C D Tadema
- Department of Ophthalmology, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.,Department of Clinical Genetics, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Erik de Vrieze
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Rachel M Lukowicz
- Institute of Neuroscience, University of Oregon, Eugene, United States
| | - Sanne Broekman
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Beerend H J Winkelman
- Department of Ophthalmology, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.,Department of Cerebellar Coordination and Cognition, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Melanie Hoevenaars
- Department of Ophthalmology, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.,Department of Clinical Genetics, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | | | - Erwin van Wijk
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Frank Schaeffel
- Institute for Ophthalmic Research, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.,Institute of Molecular and Clinical Ophthalmology Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Magda Meester-Smoor
- Department of Ophthalmology, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.,Department of Epidemiology, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Adam C Miller
- Institute of Neuroscience, University of Oregon, Eugene, United States
| | - Rob Willemsen
- Department of Clinical Genetics, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Caroline C W Klaver
- Department of Ophthalmology, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.,Institute of Molecular and Clinical Ophthalmology Basel, Basel, Switzerland.,Department of Epidemiology, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.,Department of Ophthalmology, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Adriana I Iglesias
- Department of Ophthalmology, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. .,Department of Clinical Genetics, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
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González-Casanova J, Schmachtenberg O, Martínez AD, Sanchez HA, Harcha PA, Rojas-Gomez D. An Update on Connexin Gap Junction and Hemichannels in Diabetic Retinopathy. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:ijms22063194. [PMID: 33801118 PMCID: PMC8004116 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22063194] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2021] [Revised: 03/06/2021] [Accepted: 03/10/2021] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is one of the main causes of vision loss in the working age population. It is characterized by a progressive deterioration of the retinal microvasculature, caused by long-term metabolic alterations inherent to diabetes, leading to a progressive loss of retinal integrity and function. The mammalian retina presents an orderly layered structure that executes initial but complex visual processing and analysis. Gap junction channels (GJC) forming electrical synapses are present in each retinal layer and contribute to the communication between different cell types. In addition, connexin hemichannels (HCs) have emerged as relevant players that influence diverse physiological and pathological processes in the retina. This article highlights the impact of diabetic conditions on GJC and HCs physiology and their involvement in DR pathogenesis. Microvascular damage and concomitant loss of endothelial cells and pericytes are related to alterations in gap junction intercellular communication (GJIC) and decreased connexin 43 (Cx43) expression. On the other hand, it has been shown that the expression and activity of HCs are upregulated in DR, becoming a key element in the establishment of proinflammatory conditions that emerge during hyperglycemia. Hence, novel connexin HCs blockers or drugs to enhance GJIC are promising tools for the development of pharmacological interventions for diabetic retinopathy, and initial in vitro and in vivo studies have shown favorable results in this regard.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jorge González-Casanova
- Instituto de Ciencias Biomédicas, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Autónoma de Chile, Santiago 8910060, Chile;
| | - Oliver Schmachtenberg
- Centro Interdisciplinario de Neurociencia de Valparaíso, Instituto de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Valparaíso, Valparaíso 2360102, Chile;
| | - Agustín D. Martínez
- Centro Interdisciplinario de Neurociencia de Valparaíso, Instituto de Neurociencia, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Valparaíso, Valparaíso 2360102, Chile; (A.D.M.); (H.A.S.); (P.A.H.)
| | - Helmuth A. Sanchez
- Centro Interdisciplinario de Neurociencia de Valparaíso, Instituto de Neurociencia, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Valparaíso, Valparaíso 2360102, Chile; (A.D.M.); (H.A.S.); (P.A.H.)
| | - Paloma A. Harcha
- Centro Interdisciplinario de Neurociencia de Valparaíso, Instituto de Neurociencia, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Valparaíso, Valparaíso 2360102, Chile; (A.D.M.); (H.A.S.); (P.A.H.)
| | - Diana Rojas-Gomez
- Escuela de Nutrición y Dietética, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Andres Bello, Santiago 8370146, Chile
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +56-2-26618559
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Speed-Selectivity in Retinal Ganglion Cells is Sharpened by Broad Spatial Frequency, Naturalistic Stimuli. Sci Rep 2019; 9:456. [PMID: 30679564 PMCID: PMC6345785 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-36861-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2018] [Accepted: 11/09/2018] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Motion detection represents one of the critical tasks of the visual system and has motivated a large body of research. However, it remains unclear precisely why the response of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) to simple artificial stimuli does not predict their response to complex, naturalistic stimuli. To explore this topic, we use Motion Clouds (MC), which are synthetic textures that preserve properties of natural images and are merely parameterized, in particular by modulating the spatiotemporal spectrum complexity of the stimulus by adjusting the frequency bandwidths. By stimulating the retina of the diurnal rodent, Octodon degus with MC we show that the RGCs respond to increasingly complex stimuli by narrowing their adjustment curves in response to movement. At the level of the population, complex stimuli produce a sparser code while preserving movement information; therefore, the stimuli are encoded more efficiently. Interestingly, these properties were observed throughout different populations of RGCs. Thus, our results reveal that the response at the level of RGCs is modulated by the naturalness of the stimulus - in particular for motion - which suggests that the tuning to the statistics of natural images already emerges at the level of the retina.
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Escobar MJ, Reyes C, Herzog R, Araya J, Otero M, Ibaceta C, Palacios AG. Characterization of Retinal Functionality at Different Eccentricities in a Diurnal Rodent. Front Cell Neurosci 2018; 12:444. [PMID: 30559649 PMCID: PMC6287453 DOI: 10.3389/fncel.2018.00444] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2018] [Accepted: 11/05/2018] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Although the properties of the neurons of the visual system that process central and peripheral regions of the visual field have been widely researched in the visual cortex and the LGN, they have scarcely been documented for the retina. The retina is the first step in integrating optical signals, and despite considerable efforts to functionally characterize the different types of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs), a clear account of the particular functionality of cells with central vs. peripheral fields is still wanting. Here, we use electrophysiological recordings, gathered from retinas of the diurnal rodent Octodon degus, to show that RGCs with peripheral receptive fields (RF) are larger, faster, and have shorter transient responses. This translates into higher sensitivity at high temporal frequencies and a full frequency bandwidth when compared to RGCs with more central RF. We also observed that imbalances between ON and OFF cell populations are preserved with eccentricity. Finally, the high diversity of functional types of RGCs highlights the complexity of the computational strategies implemented in the early stages of visual processing, which could inspire the development of bio-inspired artificial systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- María-José Escobar
- Departamento de Electrónica, Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María, Valparaíso, Chile
| | - César Reyes
- Departamento de Electrónica, Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María, Valparaíso, Chile
| | - Rubén Herzog
- Centro Interdisciplinario de Neurociencia de Valparaíso, Universidad de Valparaíso, Valparaíso, Chile
| | - Joaquin Araya
- Centro Interdisciplinario de Neurociencia de Valparaíso, Universidad de Valparaíso, Valparaíso, Chile
- Programa de Doctorado en NeurocienciaUniversidad de Santiago de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Mónica Otero
- Departamento de Electrónica, Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María, Valparaíso, Chile
| | - Cristóbal Ibaceta
- Centro Interdisciplinario de Neurociencia de Valparaíso, Universidad de Valparaíso, Valparaíso, Chile
| | - Adrián G. Palacios
- Centro Interdisciplinario de Neurociencia de Valparaíso, Universidad de Valparaíso, Valparaíso, Chile
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Steffen J, Krohn M, Paarmann K, Schwitlick C, Brüning T, Marreiros R, Müller-Schiffmann A, Korth C, Braun K, Pahnke J. Revisiting rodent models: Octodon degus as Alzheimer's disease model? Acta Neuropathol Commun 2016; 4:91. [PMID: 27566602 PMCID: PMC5002178 DOI: 10.1186/s40478-016-0363-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2016] [Accepted: 08/11/2016] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease primarily occurs as sporadic disease and is accompanied with vast socio-economic problems. The mandatory basic research relies on robust and reliable disease models to overcome increasing incidence and emerging social challenges. Rodent models are most efficient, versatile, and predominantly used in research. However, only highly artificial and mostly genetically modified models are available. As these 'engineered' models reproduce only isolated features, researchers demand more suitable models of sporadic neurodegenerative diseases. One very promising animal model was the South American rodent Octodon degus, which was repeatedly described as natural 'sporadic Alzheimer's disease model' with 'Alzheimer's disease-like neuropathology'. To unveil advantages over the 'artificial' mouse models, we re-evaluated the age-dependent, neurohistological changes in young and aged Octodon degus (1 to 5-years-old) bred in a wild-type colony in Germany. In our hands, extensive neuropathological analyses of young and aged animals revealed normal age-related cortical changes without obvious signs for extensive degeneration as seen in patients with dementia. Neither significant neuronal loss nor enhanced microglial activation were observed in aged animals. Silver impregnation methods, conventional, and immunohistological stains as well as biochemical fractionations revealed neither amyloid accumulation nor tangle formation. Phosphoepitope-specific antibodies against tau species displayed similar intraneuronal reactivity in both, young and aged Octodon degus.In contrast to previous results, our study suggests that Octodon degus born and bred in captivity do not inevitably develop cortical amyloidosis, tangle formation or neuronal loss as seen in Alzheimer's disease patients or transgenic disease models.
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Orellana JA. Editorial: Single membrane channels formed by connexins or pannexins: focus on the nervous system. Front Cell Neurosci 2015; 9:402. [PMID: 26528132 PMCID: PMC4606011 DOI: 10.3389/fncel.2015.00402] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2015] [Accepted: 09/22/2015] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Juan A Orellana
- Departamento de Neurología, Escuela de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile Santiago, Chile
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Szabadfi K, Estrada C, Fernandez-Villalba E, Tarragon E, Setalo G, Izura V, Reglodi D, Tamas A, Gabriel R, Herrero MT. Retinal aging in the diurnal Chilean rodent (Octodon degus): histological, ultrastructural and neurochemical alterations of the vertical information processing pathway. Front Cell Neurosci 2015; 9:126. [PMID: 25954153 PMCID: PMC4405622 DOI: 10.3389/fncel.2015.00126] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2014] [Accepted: 03/17/2015] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
The retina is sensitive to age-dependent degeneration. To find suitable animal models to understand and map this process has particular importance. The degu (Octodon degus) is a diurnal rodent with dichromatic color vision. Its retinal structure is similar to that in humans in many respects, therefore, it is well suited to study retinal aging. Histological, cell type-specific and ultrastructural alterations were examined in 6-, 12- and 36-months old degus. The characteristic layers of the retina were present at all ages, but slightly loosened tissue structure could be observed in 36-month-old animals both at light and electron microscopic levels. Elevated Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) expression was observed in Müller glial cells in aging retinas. The number of rod bipolar cells and the ganglion cells was reduced in the aging specimens, while that of cone bipolar cells remained unchanged. Other age-related differences were detected at ultrastructural level: alteration of the retinal pigment epithelium and degenerated photoreceptor cells were evident. Ribbon synapses were sparse and often differed in morphology from those in the young animals. These results support our hypothesis that (i) the rod pathway seems to be more sensitive than the cone pathway to age-related cell loss; (ii) structural changes in the basement membrane of pigment epithelial cells can be one of the early signs of degenerative processes; (iii) the loss of synaptic proteins especially from those of the ribbon synapses are characteristic; and (iv) the degu retina may be a suitable model for studying retinal aging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Krisztina Szabadfi
- Department of Experimental Zoology and Neurobiology, University of Pecs Pecs, Hungary ; Janos Szentagothai Research Center Pecs, Hungary
| | - Cristina Estrada
- Clinical and Experimental Neuroscience (NiCE), CIBERNED and Institute of Bio-Health Research of Murcia (IMIB), School of Medicine, Campus Mare Nostrum, University of Murcia Murcia, Spain
| | - Emiliano Fernandez-Villalba
- Clinical and Experimental Neuroscience (NiCE), CIBERNED and Institute of Bio-Health Research of Murcia (IMIB), School of Medicine, Campus Mare Nostrum, University of Murcia Murcia, Spain
| | - Ernesto Tarragon
- Clinical and Experimental Neuroscience (NiCE), CIBERNED and Institute of Bio-Health Research of Murcia (IMIB), School of Medicine, Campus Mare Nostrum, University of Murcia Murcia, Spain
| | - Gyorgy Setalo
- Department of Medical Biology, University of Pecs Pecs, Hungary
| | - Virginia Izura
- Clinical and Experimental Neuroscience (NiCE), CIBERNED and Institute of Bio-Health Research of Murcia (IMIB), School of Medicine, Campus Mare Nostrum, University of Murcia Murcia, Spain
| | - Dora Reglodi
- Department of Anatomy, MTA-PTE "Lendulet" PACAP Research Team, University of Pecs Pecs, Hungary
| | - Andrea Tamas
- Department of Anatomy, MTA-PTE "Lendulet" PACAP Research Team, University of Pecs Pecs, Hungary
| | - Robert Gabriel
- Department of Experimental Zoology and Neurobiology, University of Pecs Pecs, Hungary ; Janos Szentagothai Research Center Pecs, Hungary
| | - Maria Trinidad Herrero
- Clinical and Experimental Neuroscience (NiCE), CIBERNED and Institute of Bio-Health Research of Murcia (IMIB), School of Medicine, Campus Mare Nostrum, University of Murcia Murcia, Spain
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