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Gap junctional regulatory mechanisms in the AII amacrine cell of the rabbit retina

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 September 2004

XIAO-BO XIA  and
STEPHEN L. MILLS
XIAO-BO XIA
Affiliation:
Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, University of Texas at Houston—Health Science Center, Houston
STEPHEN L. MILLS
Affiliation:
Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, University of Texas at Houston—Health Science Center, Houston
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Abstract

Gap junctions are commonplace in retina, often between cells of the same morphological type, but sometimes linking different cell types. The strength of coupling between cells derives from the properties of the connexins, but also is regulated by the intracellular environment of each cell. We measured the relative coupling of two different gap junctions made by AII amacrine cells of the rabbit retina. Permeability to the tracer Neurobiotin was measured at different concentrations of the neuromodulators dopamine, nitric oxide, or cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) analogs. Diffusion coefficients were calculated separately for the gap junctions between pairs of AII amacrine cells and for those connecting AII amacrine cells with ON cone bipolar cells. Increased dopamine caused diffusion rates to decline more rapidly across the AII–AII gap junctions than across the AII–bipolar cell gap junctions. The rate of decline at these sites was well fit by a model proposing that dopamine modulates two independent gates in AII–AII channels, but only a single gate on the AII side of the AII–bipolar channel. However, a membrane-permeant cAMP agonist modulated both types of channel equally. Therefore, the major regulator of channel closure in this network is the local cAMP concentration within each cell, as regulated by dopamine, rather than different cAMP sensitivity of their respective gates. In contrast, nitric oxide preferentially reduced AII–bipolar cell permeabilities. Coupling from AII amacrine cells to the different bipolar cell subtypes was differentially affected by dopamine, indicating that light adaptation acting via dopamine release alters network coupling properties in multiple ways.

Keywords

Electrical couplingGap junctionRetina
Type
Research Article
Information
Visual Neuroscience , Volume 21 , Issue 5 , September 2004 , pp. 791 - 805
Copyright
2004 Cambridge University Press

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