Light deprivation slows but does not prevent the loss of photoreceptors in taurine transporter knockout mice.
Taurine transporter knockout mice show severe retinal degeneration at an early age. The study was designed to determine whether degeneration also takes place in the absence of light. Mice were maintained up to 6 weeks of age in cyclic lighting or in total darkness. Degeneration took place in both groups, but was more rapid in animals exposed to standard cyclic illumination. At the ultrastructural level the retinas showed features characteristic of apoptosis but not of necrosis.


CONCLUSIONS
Cell differentiation is not seriously affected by the lack of a functional taurine transporter but mature photoreceptor cells do not survive without an intact transporter, even in the dark.
Rascher
K
K
Department of Anatomy II, Universitätsstrasse 1, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany. rascher@uni-duesseldorf.de
Servos
G
G
Berthold
G
G
Hartwig
H-G
HG
Warskulat
U
U
Heller-Stilb
B
B
Häussinger
D
D
D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000502:physiology; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000502:physiology; D007150:Immunohistochemistry / Q000379:methods; D008027:Light; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins; D051379:Mice; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D010587:Phagocytosis / Q000502:physiology; D010786:Photoreceptor Cells / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012160:Retina / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D012162:Retinal Degeneration / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D000099247:Taurine Transporters
D002352:Carrier Proteins; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins; D000099247:Taurine Transporters