Immunohistochemical Characterisation of the Whale Retina

Ruzafa, Noelia; Pereiro, Xandra; Vecino, Elena

doi:10.3389/fnana.2022.813369

Cited by 5 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 41 publications

(58 reference statements)

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“…Whale primary and immortalized Müller cells were also characterized immunocytochemically using the Müller cells markers GS ( Mack et al, 1998 ) and GFAP ( Lewis et al, 1988 ), the neural marker β-III-Tubulin ( Jiang et al, 2015 ) and the marker of dedifferentiation or a fibroblastic phenotype, α-SMA ( Darby et al, 1990 ) ( Figures 8 , 9 ). Parallel studies demonstrated that these specific markers are present in the Müller glia of the whale retina ( Ruzafa et al, 2022 ). GS is the main enzyme involved in transmitter recycling in Müller cells, and it is downregulated in immortalized Müller cells after 10 passages.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

Characteristics of Whale Müller Glia in Primary and Immortalized Cultures

et al. 2022

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Müller cells are the principal glial cells in the retina and they assume many of the functions carried out by astrocytes, oligodendrocytes and ependymal cells in other regions of the central nervous system. Müller cells express growth factors, neurotransmitter transporters and antioxidant agents that could fulfill important roles in preventing excitotoxic damage to retinal neurons. Vertebrate Müller cells are well-defined cells, characterized by a common set of features throughout the phylum. Nevertheless, several major differences have been observed among the Müller cells in distinct vertebrates, such as neurogenesis, the capacity to reprogram fish Müller glia to neurons. Here, the Müller glia of the largest adult mammal in the world, the whale, have been analyzed, and given the difficulties in obtaining cetacean cells for study, these whale glia were analyzed both in primary cultures and as immortalized whale Müller cells. After isolating the retina from the eye of a beached sei whale (Balaenoptera borealis), primary Müller cell cultures were established and once the cultures reached confluence, half of the cultures were immortalized with the simian virus 40 (SV40) large T-antigen commonly used to immortalize human cell lines. The primary cell cultures were grown until cells reached senescence. Expression of the principal molecular markers of Müller cells (GFAP, Vimentin and Glutamine synthetase) was studied in both primary and immortalized cells at each culture passage. Proliferation kinetics of the cells were analyzed by time-lapse microscopy: the time between divisions, the time that cells take to divide, and the proportion of dividing cells in the same field. The karyotypes of the primary and immortalized whale Müller cells were also characterized. Our results shown that W21M proliferate more rapidly and they have a stable karyotype. W21M cells display a heterogeneous cell morphology, less motility and a distinctive expression of some typical molecular markers of Müller cells, with an increase in dedifferentiation markers like α-SMA and β-III tubulin, while they preserve their GS expression depending on the culture passage. Here we also discuss the possible influence of the animal’s age and size on these cells, and on their senescence.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

Characteristics of Whale Müller Glia in Primary and Immortalized Cultures

et al. 2022

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“…Calretinin-positive ganglion cells are present as different morphological subtypes in numerous species; in the mouse, about 85% of all ganglion cells showed a positive signal [44]. In Mysticeti, a similar pattern could be seen with the intense staining of horizontal and amacrine cells; however, no positive signal was found in the ganglion cell layer [50].…”

Section: Immunohistochemistrymentioning

confidence: 94%

Interspecies Retinal Diversity and Optic Nerve Anatomy in Odontocetes

De Boeck,

Cozzi,

Graïc

2023

Animals

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Throughout evolution, odontocete vision has had to readapt to the aquatic environment, which has had far-reaching effects on ocular anatomy and neurology. The most prominent features include the iris with an operculum, a well-developed choroid, the presence of giant ganglion cells in the retina, and the hemispherical shape of the thick eyecup. In the present study, the optic nerve and the retina were comparatively studied in Odontoceti (Cuvier’s beaked whale, common bottlenose dolphin, false killer whale, long-finned pilot whale, Risso’s dolphin, striped dolphin), the semi-aquatic common hippopotamus, and the fully terrestrial bovine. Cross-sections of the tissue were treated with histological and immunohistochemical techniques. Substantial differences were seen between the odontocetes and the reference species as well as within the cetaceans. The morphological structure of the optic nerve mainly appeared species specific, while the density of retinal ganglion cells was significantly higher in the terrestrial bovine than in the cetaceans. However, some typical characteristics of the cetacean retina were absent: the giant ganglion cells and the high retinal thickness. Immunohistochemical research showed varying degrees of neurofilament 200 expression in the retinal ganglion cells, while calretinin was only expressed in those of the common bottlenose dolphin and bovine.

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“…Intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells also have been identified in other mammals such as the tree shrew (Johnson et al, 2019), whale (Ruzafa et al, 2022), and primates (Liao et al, 2016;Esquiva et al, 2017;Hannibal et al, 2017;Mure et al, 2019;Nasir-Ahmad et al, 2019). Adult human eyes contain about 4,000-7,500 cells immunolabeled with anti-melanopsin antisera (see Table 1).…”

Section: Rodent and Primate Intrinsically Photosensitive Retinal Gang...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells in glaucoma

Gao

Provencio

Liu

2022

Front. Cell. Neurosci.

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Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases afflicting more than 70 million people worldwide. It is characterized by damage to retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) that ultimately leads to the death of the cells and vision loss. The diversity of RGC types has been appreciated for decades, and studies, including ours, have shown that RGCs degenerate and die in a type-specific manner in rodent models of glaucoma. The type-specific loss of RGCs results in differential damage to visual and non-visual functions. One type of RGC, the intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cell (ipRGC), expressing the photopigment melanopsin, serves a broad array of non-visual responses to light. Since its discovery, six subtypes of ipRGC have been described, each contributing to various image-forming and non-image-forming functions such as circadian photoentrainment, the pupillary light reflex, the photic control of mood and sleep, and visual contrast sensitivity. We recently demonstrated a link between type-specific ipRGC survival and behavioral deficits in a mouse model of chronic ocular hypertension. This review focuses on the type-specific ipRGC degeneration and associated behavioral changes in animal models and glaucoma patients. A better understanding of how glaucomatous insult impacts the ipRGC-based circuits will have broad impacts on improving the treatment of glaucoma-associated non-visual disorders.

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Immunohistochemical Characterisation of the Whale Retina

Cited by 5 publications

References 41 publications

Characteristics of Whale Müller Glia in Primary and Immortalized Cultures

Characteristics of Whale Müller Glia in Primary and Immortalized Cultures

Interspecies Retinal Diversity and Optic Nerve Anatomy in Odontocetes

Intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells in glaucoma

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