title: Basal increase in c-Fos-like expression in superior colliculus of Royal College of Surgeons dystrophic rats can be abolished by intraocular injection of tetrodotoxin.
abstract: In normal rats maintained in the dark, very few cells in the primary visual centers, including the superior colliculus, show Fos-like immunoreactivity. By contrast, in rats presented with flashing lights many Fos-like immunoreactivity cells are observed distributed throughout the visual centers. In the dystrophic Royal College of Surgeons rat, in which there is major loss of photoreceptors over the first 3 months of life, similar numbers of Fos-like immunoreactivity cells are seen on light presentation, but in marked contrast, cell densities in the rats maintained in the dark are many times higher than in non-dystrophic rats maintained under similar conditions. Here we show that this elevated dark response can be abolished by intravitreal injection of the sodium channel blocker tetrodotoxin, indicating that this effect results from changed retinal activity, rather than being centrally generated. We suggest that since Fos-like immunoreactivity is not usually elicited by steady state conditions, the elevated levels in the superior colliculus in these animals reflect the return of waves of activity, first seen in development coursing across the retina, but lost with photoreceptor maturation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Sheffield, UK. bin.lu@hsc.utah.edu
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: R D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Lund
authors.forename: P J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Coffey
mesh_terms: D000200:Action Potentials / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D002452:Cell Count; D003624:Darkness / Q000009:adverse effects; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D009410:Nerve Degeneration / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000503:physiopathology; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D020419:Photoreceptor Cells, Vertebrate / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D016760:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D011922:Rats, Mutant Strains; D012162:Retinal Degeneration / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D012165:Retinal Ganglion Cells / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D026941:Sodium Channel Blockers; D015222:Sodium Channels / Q000378:metabolism; D013477:Superior Colliculi / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D013779:Tetrodotoxin / Q000494:pharmacology; D015854:Up-Regulation / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D014795:Visual Pathways / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology
chemical_list: D016760:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos; D026941:Sodium Channel Blockers; D015222:Sodium Channels; D013779:Tetrodotoxin