Increased c-fos-like immunoreactivity in the superior colliculus and lateral geniculate nucleus of the rd mouse.
In most subcortical visual centers in normal mice maintained for a period in the dark, very few neurons express fos-like immunoreactivity (FLI), most likely reflecting c-fos expression, but if an animal is exposed to a flashing light, there is transient increase in the number of FLI-expressing cells. In dark-maintained retinal degeneration (rd) mice, with an inherited photoreceptor defect, numbers of FLI-positive cells, identified immunohistochemically, are anomalously elevated in the superior colliculus (SC) and lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN). Eye removal largely prevents the elevated counts. The difference in number of FLI-positive cells in the SC of rd mice and nondystrophic controls is highly significant (p<0.001). Because we have previously found a similar phenomenon in Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) rats, in which photoreceptor loss is caused by a retinal pigment cell defect, it argues for an effect related to photoreceptor loss rather than its cause.
Lu
Bin
B
Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Moran Eye Center, University of Utah Health Science Center, 75 N. Medical Drive, Salt Lake City, UT 84132, USA.
Coffey
Peter
P
Lund
Raymond
R
D000818:Animals; D016762:Genes, fos / Q000502:physiology*; D005829:Geniculate Bodies / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D051379:Mice; D020297:Mice, Congenic; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008817:Mice, Mutant Strains; D012162:Retinal Degeneration / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D013477:Superior Colliculi / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology