Immunocytochemical study of dystrophin-related protein in the rat retina.

Dystrophin-related protein (DRP) has been reported to exist in the brain, but there are no reports describing its existence in the retina. In the present study, DRP localization was examined in rat retinas by immunohistochemistry in comparison to dystrophin localization. Rat retinas were fixed using paraformaldehyde and immunostained with one antidystrophin antibody and two anti-DPR antibodies. Dystrophin was observed in the outer plexiform layer, but DRP was recognized in ganglion cell layer and inner nuclear layer, but not in the outer plexiform layer. DRP has been thought to exist under the plasma membrane, but the present study clarified that DRP in the retina was localized throughout the perikaryon of the neuronal cells. These results suggest that DRP may play a distinct role from that of dystrophin in the rat retina.