title: Cross-talk between ON and OFF channels in the salamander retina: indirect bipolar cell inputs to ON-OFF ganglion cells.
abstract: It has been widely accepted that ON and OFF channels in the visual system are segregated with little cross-communication, except for the mammalian rod bipolar cell-AII amacrine cell-ganglion cell pathway. Here, we show that in the tiger salamander retina the light responses of a subpopulation of ON-OFF ganglion cells are mediated by crossing the ON and OFF bipolar cell pathways. Although the majority of ON-OFF ganglion cells (type I cells) receive direct excitatory inputs from depolarizing and hyperpolarizing bipolar cells (DBCs and HBCs), about 5% (type II cells) receive indirect excitatory inputs from DBCs and 20% (type III cells) receive indirect excitatory inputs from HBCs. These indirect bipolar cell inputs are likely to be mediated by a subpopulation of amacrine cells that exhibit transient hyperpolarizing light responses (AC(H)s) and make GABAergic/glycinergic synapses on DBC or HBC axon terminals. GABA and glycine receptor antagonists enhanced the ON and OFF excitatory cation current (DeltaI(C)) in type I ganglion cells, but completely suppressed the ON DeltaI(C) mediated by DBCs in type II cells and the OFF DeltaI(C) mediated by HBCs in types III cells. Dendrites of type I cells ramify in both sublamina A and B, type II cells exclusively in sublamina A, and type III cells exclusively in sublamina B of the inner plexiform layer. These results demonstrate that indirect, amacrine cell-mediated bipolar cell-ganglion cell synaptic pathways exist in a non-mammalian retina, and that bidirectional cross-talk between ON and OFF channels is present in the vertebrate retina.
authors.affiliation: Cullen Eye Institute, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, NC-205, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
authors.forename: Ji-Jie
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Pang
authors.forename: Fan
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.forename: Samuel M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Wu
mesh_terms: D025042:Amacrine Cells / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D000557:Ambystoma / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D002450:Cell Communication / Q000502:physiology; D018755:GABA Agonists / Q000494:pharmacology; D018756:GABA Antagonists / Q000494:pharmacology; D018079:Receptors, GABA / Q000502:physiology; D012160:Retina / Q000502:physiology; D051245:Retinal Bipolar Cells / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D012165:Retinal Ganglion Cells / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D014795:Visual Pathways / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D018755:GABA Agonists; D018756:GABA Antagonists; D018079:Receptors, GABA