Puller Christian, Haverkamp Silke, Grünert Ulrike
Department of Neuroanatomy, Max-Planck-Institute for Brain Research, D-60528 Frankfurt/Main, Germany.
J Comp Neurol. 2007 May 20;502(3):442-54. doi: 10.1002/cne.21315.
Recent studies suggested that different types of OFF bipolar cells express specific types of ionotropic (AMPA or kainate) glutamate receptors (GluRs) at their contacts with cone pedicles. However, the question of which GluR type is expressed by which type of OFF bipolar cell in primate retina is still open. In this study, the expression of AMPA and kainate receptor subunits at the dendritic tips of flat (OFF) midget bipolar (FMB) cells was analyzed in the retina of the common marmoset, Callithrix jacchus. We used preembedding electron microscopy and double immunofluorescence with subunit-specific antibodies. The FMB cells were labeled with antibodies against the carbohydrate epitope CD15. Cone pedicles were identified with peanut agglutinin. Immunoreactivity for the GluR1 subunit and for CD15 is preferentially located at triad-associated flat contacts. Furthermore, the large majority of GluR1 immunoreactive puncta is localized at the dendritic tips of FMB cells. These results suggest that FMB cells express the AMPA receptor subunit GluR1. In contrast, the kainate receptor subunit GluR5 is not colocalized with the dendritic tips of FMB cells or with the GluR1 subunit. Immunoreactive puncta for the GluR1 subunit are found at all M/L-cone pedicles but are only rarely associated with S-cone pedicles. This is consistent with our recent findings in marmoset retina that FMB cells do not contact S-cone pedicles. The presence of GluR5 clusters at S-cone pedicles indicates that in primate retinas OFF bipolar cells expressing kainate receptor subunits receive some S-cone input.
近期研究表明,不同类型的 OFF 双极细胞在与视锥小足接触处表达特定类型的离子型(AMPA 或海人酸)谷氨酸受体(GluRs)。然而,在灵长类视网膜中,哪种类型的 OFF 双极细胞表达哪种 GluR 类型的问题仍未解决。在本研究中,我们在普通狨猴(Callithrix jacchus)的视网膜中分析了扁平(OFF)侏儒双极(FMB)细胞树突尖端处 AMPA 和海人酸受体亚基的表达。我们使用了包埋前电子显微镜和亚基特异性抗体的双重免疫荧光法。FMB 细胞用抗碳水化合物表位 CD15 的抗体进行标记。视锥小足用花生凝集素进行鉴定。GluR1 亚基和 CD15 的免疫反应性优先位于与三联体相关的扁平接触处。此外,绝大多数 GluR1 免疫反应性斑点位于 FMB 细胞的树突尖端。这些结果表明 FMB 细胞表达 AMPA 受体亚基 GluR1。相比之下,海人酸受体亚基 GluR5 与 FMB 细胞的树突尖端或 GluR1 亚基不共定位。在所有 M/L 视锥小足处都发现了 GluR1 亚基的免疫反应性斑点,但与 S 视锥小足的关联很少。这与我们最近在狨猴视网膜中的发现一致,即 FMB 细胞不接触 S 视锥小足。S 视锥小足处存在 GluR5 簇表明,在灵长类视网膜中,表达海人酸受体亚基的 OFF 双极细胞接受一些 S 视锥输入。