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Dye coupling in horizontal cells of developing rabbit retina

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 March 2000

DIANNA A. JOHNSON
Affiliation:
Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, University of Texas at Houston–Health Science Center, Houston Current address: Department of Ophthalmology, The University of Tennessee, Memphis, TN 38163, USA.
STEPHEN L. MILLS
Affiliation:
Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, University of Texas at Houston–Health Science Center, Houston
MICHAEL F. HABERECHT
Affiliation:
Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, University of Texas at Houston–Health Science Center, Houston Current address: Department of Psychiatry, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA. E-mail: [email protected]
STEPHEN C. MASSEY
Affiliation:
Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, University of Texas at Houston–Health Science Center, Houston

Abstract

In the mature rabbit retina, two classes of horizontal cells, A type and B type, provide lateral inhibition in the outer plexiform layer (OPL) and spatially modify the activation of bipolar cells by photoreceptors. Gap junctions connecting homologous horizontal cells determine the extent to which this inhibitory activity spreads laterally across the OPL. Little is currently known about the expression of gap junctions in horizontal cells during postnatal development or how cell–cell coupling might contribute to subsequent maturational events. We have examined the morphological attributes and coupling properties of developing A and B type horizontal cells in neonatal rabbit retina using intracellular injections of Lucifer Yellow and Neurobiotin. Prelabeling with DAPI permitted the targeting of horizontal cell bodies for intracellular injection in perfused preparations of isolated retina. A and B type horizontal cells were identifiable at birth although their dendritic field sizes had not reached adult proportions and their synaptic contacts in the OPL were minimal. Both cell types exhibited homologous dye coupling at birth. Similar to that seen in the adult, no heterologous coupling was observed, and homologous coupling among A type cells was stronger than that observed among B type cells. The spread of tracer compounds through gap junctions of morphologically immature horizontal cells suggests that ions and other small, bioactive compounds may likewise spread through coupled, horizontal networks to coordinate the subsequent maturational of emerging outer plexiform layer pathways.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
2000 Cambridge University Press

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