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.
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.
Bin
B
Lu
Peter
P
Coffey
Raymond
R
Lund
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