Morphological Changes of the Dopaminergic Network in the Rat Retina after Axotomy.
- Author:
Hyun Ju KIM
1
;
Eun Jin LEE
;
Su Ja OH
;
Myung Hoon CHUN
Author Information
1. Department of Anatomy, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, 505 Banpo-dong, Socho-gu, Seoul 137-701, Korea. mhchun@catholic.ac.kr
- Publication Type:Original Article
- Keywords:
Tyrosine hydroxylase;
AII amacrine cells;
Optic nerve transaction;
Immunocytochemistry
- MeSH:
Amacrine Cells;
Animals;
Axotomy*;
Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor;
Immunohistochemistry;
Optic Nerve;
Rats*;
Retina*;
Retinaldehyde;
Tyrosine 3-Monooxygenase
- From:Korean Journal of Anatomy
2005;38(2):199-206
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
In the retina, dopaminergic cells express the receptor for brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which is known to be retrogradely transported from higher center to the retina. This study was conducted to identify the effect of optic nerve transaction on the dopaminergic cells in the rat retina by immunocytochemistry using antityrosine hydroxylase (TH) antiserum. In the control retina, we found two types of TH-immunoreactive amacrine cells, type I and type II, in the inner nuclear layer (INL) adjacent to the inner plexiform layer (IPL). The type I amacrine cell varicosities formed ring-like structures in contact with AII amacrine cell somata in stratum 1 of the IPL. In the axotomized retinas, TH-labeled processes formed loose networks of fibers, unlike the dense networks in the control retina, and the ring-like structures were disrupted. Our data suggest that retrogradely transported neurotrophic factor affects the expression of TH immunoreactivity in the axotomized rat retina and may therefore influence the retinal dopaminergic system.
