Neurofilament proteins in Y-cells of the cat lateral geniculate nucleus: normal expression and alteration with visual deprivation.
We examined neurofilament staining in the normal and visually deprived lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN), using the SMI-32 antibody. This antibody preferentially stains LGN cells that display the morphological characteristics of Y-cells. The soma sizes of SMI-32-stained cells were consistent with those of the overall population of Y-cells, and the Golgi-like staining of their dendrites revealed a radial distribution that often crossed laminar boundaries. Labeled cells were distributed within the A laminae (primarily near laminar borders), the magnocellular portion of the C laminae, and the medial intralaminar nucleus, but they were absent in the parvocellular C laminae. Electron microscopic examination of SMI-32-stained tissue revealed that staining was confined to somata, dendrites, and large myelinated axons. Retinal synapses on SMI-32-labeled dendrites were primarily simple axodendritic contacts; few triadic arrangements were observed. In the LGN of cats reared with monocular lid suture, SMI-32 staining was decreased significantly in the A laminae that received input from the deprived eye. Dephosphorylation of the tissue did not alter the cellular SMI-32 staining patterns. Analysis of staining patterns in the C laminae and monocular zone of the A laminae suggests that changes in the cytoskeleton after lid suture reflect cell class and not binocular competition. Taken together, the results from normal and lid-sutured animals suggest that the cat LGN offers a unique model system in which the cytoskeleton of one class of cells can be manipulated by altering neuronal activity.
Department of Anatomical Sciences and Neurobiology, University of Louisville, School of Medicine, Louisville, Kentucky 40292, USA.
M E
ME
Bickford
W
W
Guido
D W
DW
Godwin
D000469:Alkaline Phosphatase / Q000494:pharmacology; D000818:Animals; D002415:Cats; D003599:Cytoskeleton / Q000648:ultrastructure; D005829:Geniculate Bodies / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D007150:Immunohistochemistry / Q000379:methods; D016900:Neurofilament Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D009474:Neurons / Q000145:classification* / Q000378:metabolism*; D012016:Reference Values; D012683:Sensory Deprivation / Q000502:physiology*; D013194:Staining and Labeling; D015349:Vision, Monocular / Q000502:physiology*
D016900:Neurofilament Proteins; D000469:Alkaline Phosphatase