title: Identification and characterization of SMI32-immunoreactive amacrine cells in the mouse retina.
abstract: Mammalian neurons express the neural intermediate filament protein neurofilament (NF). In the retina, NFs have been detected primarily in the axons and processes of retinal ganglion and horizontal cells. We found an amacrine cell type that was immunolabeled with an antibody against SMI32, a non-phosphorylated epitope on neurofilament proteins of high molecular weight, in the mouse retina. This type of amacrine cell was non-randomly distributed, and these cells exhibited a central-peripheral density gradient. Most of these cells co-expressed GABA and ChAT, but not glycine or any other amacrine cell marker. These results suggest that some SMI32-immunoreactive amacrine cells belong to a GABAergic population, and that SMI32 can therefore be used as a marker for a subset of amacrine cells in addition to ganglion cells and horizontal cells in the mouse retina.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, 505 Banpo-dong, Socho-gu, Seoul 137-701, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Eun-Jin
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.forename: In-Beom
authors.initials: IB
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Su-Ja
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Oh
authors.forename: Myung-Hoon
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Chun
mesh_terms: D025042:Amacrine Cells / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D002795:Choline O-Acetyltransferase / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D016900:Neurofilament Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D012160:Retina / Q000166:cytology*; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D016900:Neurofilament Proteins; C051774:neurofilament protein H; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid; D002795:Choline O-Acetyltransferase