In addition to the well-studied AII amacrine cell, there
is another amacrine cell type participating in the rod
pathway of the mammalian retina. In cat, this cell is called
the A17 amacrine cell, and in rabbits, it is called the
indoleamine-accumulating amacrine cell (S1 and S2); however,
the presence of the corresponding cell type has not yet
been described in detail for the rat retina. To this end,
we injected amacrine cells with Neurobiotin in vertical
retinal slices. After histological processing, we were
able to reconstruct the morphology of a wide-field amacrine
cell which showed characteristics of A17 and S1/S2 amacrine
cells. The rat wide-field amacrine cells exhibited the
same stratification pattern, their dendrites bore varicosities
and ramified in sublamina 5 of the inner plexiform layer
(IPL), and they were dye-coupled to other amacrine cells.
To determine whether those amacrine cells shared electrophysiological
characteristics as well, we performed whole-cell patch-clamp
recordings and examined their voltage-activated currents
and neurotransmitter-induced currents. We never observed
voltage-gated Na+ currents and spike-like potentials
upon depolarization by current injection in these cells.
We identified GABA- and glycine-sensitive Cl−
currents that could be blocked by bicuculline and strychnine,
respectively. We also observed kainate- and AMPA-activated
currents, which could be inhibited by the application of
6-cyano-7-nitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione (CNQX). Finally, a
400-ms full-field light stimulus was used to characterize
the light responses of A17 amacrine cells. The light ON-induced
inward current could be suppressed by the application of
2,3-Dioxo-6-nitro-1,2,3,4-tetrahydrobenzo[f]quinoxaline-7-sulphonamide
(NBQX), while the majority of the light OFF-induced current
was inhibited by bicuculline and reduced to a smaller extent
by NBQX. CPP, an NMDA blocker, had no effect on the light
response of rat A17 amacrine cells.