Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, California.
J Comp Neurol. 2019 Jan 1;527(1):225-235. doi: 10.1002/cne.24172. Epub 2017 Mar 10.
Retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) are tasked with transmitting all light information from the eye to the retinal recipient areas of the brain. RGCs can be classified into many different types by morphology, gene expression, axonal projections, and functional responses to different light stimuli. Ultimately, these classification systems should be unified into an all-encompassing taxonomy. Toward that end, we show here that nearly all RGCs express either Islet-2 (Isl2), Tbr2, or a combination of Satb1 and Satb2. We present gene expression data supporting the hypothesis that Satb1 and Satb2 are expressed in ON-OFF direction-selective (DS) RGCs, complementing our previous work demonstrating that RGCs that express Isl2 and Tbr2 are non-DS and non-image-forming, respectively. Expression of these transcription factors emerges at distinct embryonic ages and only in postmitotic cells. Finally, we demonstrate that these transcription factor-defined RGC classes are born throughout RGC genesis.
视网膜神经节细胞（RGC）的任务是将所有来自眼睛的光信息传输到视网膜的大脑接收区域。RGC 可以通过形态、基因表达、轴突投射和对不同光刺激的功能反应来分为许多不同的类型。最终，这些分类系统应该统一为一个全面的分类法。为此，我们在这里表明，几乎所有的 RGC 都表达 Islet-2（Isl2）、Tbr2 或 Satb1 和 Satb2 的组合。我们提供了支持 Satb1 和 Satb2 在 ON-OFF 方向选择性（DS）RGC 中表达的基因表达数据，这补充了我们之前的工作，表明表达 Isl2 和 Tbr2 的 RGC 分别是非 DS 和非成像的。这些转录因子的表达出现在不同的胚胎时期，并且只在有丝分裂后的细胞中出现。最后，我们证明了这些转录因子定义的 RGC 类在整个 RGC 发生过程中产生。
