Departamento de Biotecnologia, Universidad de Alicante, San Vicente del Raspeig, Spain.
Brain Res. 2010 Mar 19;1321:60-6. doi: 10.1016/j.brainres.2010.01.051. Epub 2010 Jan 28.
The S334ter-3 rat is a transgenic model of retinal degeneration (RD) developed to express a rhodopsin mutation similar to that found in human retinitis pigmentosa. Due to this advantage over other models of RD, a few retina transplant studies have been reported on this animal model. Currently, no information is available on cone photoreceptor changes that occur in the S334ter RD model. In this study, we investigated the effect of RD on the morphology, distribution, and synaptic connectivity of short-wavelength cones (S-cones) during development of S334ter-3 rat retinas. At P21 RD retinas, the outer-nuclear layer was significantly narrower, while S-cones showed shortening of their segments and axons compared to control retinas. From P90 onward, S-opsin-immunoreactive cells appeared at the outer margin of the inner-nuclear layer of RD retinas. Double-labelling experiments showed these cells contained recoverin and cone arrestin. Furthermore, ultra-structure study showed that synaptic ribbons are conserved in the S-cone at P180 RD retinas. Although cell density of S-cones significantly dropped after P90, survival rates depended on the retinal region. Overall, the S334ter-3 RD model shows hallmarks of cone remodelling due to photoreceptor degeneration.
S334ter-3 大鼠是一种视网膜变性（RD）的转基因模型，用于表达类似于人类色素性视网膜炎的视紫红质突变。由于与其他 RD 模型相比具有这一优势，因此已经有一些关于该动物模型的视网膜移植研究报告。目前，关于 S334ter RD 模型中发生的圆锥细胞感光器变化，尚无信息可查。在这项研究中，我们研究了 S334ter-3 大鼠视网膜 RD 对短波长锥体（S-锥体）形态、分布和突触连接的影响。在 P21 RD 视网膜中，外核层明显变窄，而 S-锥体与对照视网膜相比，其节段和轴突缩短。从 P90 开始，RD 视网膜的内核层的外边缘出现 S-opsin 免疫反应性细胞。双标记实验表明，这些细胞含有恢复蛋白和锥体阻滞蛋白。此外，超微结构研究表明，在 P180 RD 视网膜的 S-锥体中保留了突触带。尽管 P90 后 S-锥体的细胞密度显著下降，但存活率取决于视网膜区域。总的来说，S334ter-3 RD 模型表现出由于光感受器变性导致的锥体重塑的特征。
