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Voltage-gated Na+ channel EOIII-segment-like immunoreactivity in fish retinal ganglion cells

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 July 2000

MASAYASU YOSHIKAWA
Affiliation:
Section of Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior, University of California, Davis
KAJ ANDERSON
Affiliation:
Section of Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior, University of California, Davis
HIRONOBU SAKAGUCHI
Affiliation:
Section of Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior, University of California, Davis
JOHN G. FLANNERY
Affiliation:
School of Optometry, University of California, Berkeley
PAUL G. FITZGERALD
Affiliation:
Department of Cell Biology and Human Anatomy, University of California, Davis
ANDREW T. ISHIDA
Affiliation:
Section of Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior, University of California, Davis

Abstract

Although single-channel and whole-cell patch-clamp recordings have demonstrated the presence of Na+ currents in retinal ganglion cell somata, it has not previously been reported that an anti-Na+-channel antiserum stains both retinal ganglion cell somata and proteins with molecular weights corresponding to complexes of α and β subunits. We probed adult goldfish retinas for Na+ channel-like immunoreactivity with a polyclonal antibody directed against the EOIII segment of vertebrate voltage-gated Na+ channels. In vertical sections and whole mounts, this antibody consistently stained the somata, axons, and proximal dendrites of retinal ganglion cells. Some somata in the proximal third of the inner nuclear layer were also stained. In Western blots, this antibody specifically stained multiple protein bands from retina and optic nerve, all with apparent molecular weights between 200 and 315 kDa. The largest of these molecular weights agrees with that reported previously for complexes of α and β subunits in mammalian neurons, including retinal ganglion cells. The intermediate and lowest molecular weights are consistent with the presence of multiple Na+ channel α subunits, either in individual proximal retinal neurons or in different morphological subtypes.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© 2000 Cambridge University Press

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