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Recurrent axon collaterals of intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2013

HANNAH R. JOO ,
BETH B. PETERSON ,
DENNIS M. DACEY ,
SAMER HATTAR  and
SHIH-KUO CHEN
HANNAH R. JOO
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland Department of Biological Structure and the National Primate Research Center, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
BETH B. PETERSON
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Structure and the National Primate Research Center, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
DENNIS M. DACEY
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Structure and the National Primate Research Center, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
SAMER HATTAR*
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
SHIH-KUO CHEN*
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland Department of Zoology, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
*
*Address correspondence to: Dr. Shih-Kuo Chen, Department of Zoology, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan 106. E-mail: alenskchen@ntu.edu.tw and Dr. Samer Hattar, Departments of Biology and Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218. E-mail: shattar@jhu.edu
*Address correspondence to: Dr. Shih-Kuo Chen, Department of Zoology, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan 106. E-mail: alenskchen@ntu.edu.tw and Dr. Samer Hattar, Departments of Biology and Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218. E-mail: shattar@jhu.edu
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Abstract

Retinal ganglion cells (RGCs), the output neurons of the retina, have axons that project via the optic nerve to diverse targets in the brain. Typically, RGC axons do not branch before exiting the retina and thus do not provide it with synaptic feedback. Although a small subset of RGCs with intraretinal axon collaterals has been previously observed in human, monkey, cat, and turtle, their function remains unknown. A small, more recently identified population of RGCs expresses the photopigment melanopsin. These intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCs) transmit an irradiance-coding signal to visual nuclei in the brain, contributing both to image-forming vision and to several nonimage-forming functions, including circadian photoentrainment and the pupillary light reflex. In this study, using melanopsin immunolabeling in monkey and a genetic method to sparsely label the melanopsin cells in mouse, we show that a subgroup of ipRGCs have axons that branch en route to the optic disc, forming intraretinal axon collaterals that terminate in the inner plexiform layer of the retina. The previously described collateral-bearing population identified by intracellular dye injection is anatomically indistinguishable from the collateral-bearing melanopsin cells identified here, suggesting they are a subset of the melanopsin-expressing RGC type and may therefore share its functional properties. Identification of an anatomically distinct subpopulation in mouse, monkey, and human suggests this pathway may be conserved in these and other species (turtle and cat) with intraretinal axon collaterals. We speculate that ipRGC axon collaterals constitute a likely synaptic pathway for feedback of an irradiance signal to modulate retinal light responses.

Keywords

MelanopsinCollateralsRetinaPrimateMouse
Type
Brief Communication
Information
Visual Neuroscience , Volume 30 , Issue 4 , July 2013 , pp. 175 - 182
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013 

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