title: Postnatal development of corticotropin releasing factor-like immunoreactive amacrine cells in the rat retina.
abstract: The postnatal development of the corticotropin releasing factor-like immunoreactive (CRF-LI) amacrine cells was investigated in the Long-Evans rat retina. The pattern of development of CRF-LI cells was studied by immunohistochemistry, their cell number and density throughout the first two weeks of postnatal development were analyzed, and correlative measures of CRF-LI content were obtained using radioimmunoassay (RIA). The overall pattern of CRF-LI development, as revealed by either method, is characterized initially by faint staining and low content, respectively, which began to increase in staining intensity and content until a peak was reached around postnatal day (PD)-15, the time of eye opening. In determining cell number and density, emphasis was placed on the relationship between the development of CRF-LI neurons in the inner nuclear layer (INL) and that in the ganglion cell layer (GCL). Such quantitative analyses revealed a series of dynamic shifts in the distribution of CRF-LI cell density in both a horizontal orientation and a vertical orientation prior to PD-15. Horizontally, the shift involved a center-to-periphery density gradient which disappeared progressively as the retina matured. Vertically, a reciprocal change in total cell number occurred; the number of CRF-LI cells in the INL decreased while that in the GCL increased. These changes stabilized by PD-15 and, by PD-19, the CRF-LI cells appeared morphologically mature.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurobiology, University of Rochester Medical Center, NY 14642.
authors.forename: D R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gallagher
authors.forename: C D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Sladek
authors.forename: H H
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Yeh
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D002452:Cell Count; D003346:Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone / Q000378:metabolism*; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D051381:Rats; D012160:Retina / Q000166:cytology / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D003346:Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone