title: Late histological and functional changes in the P23H rat retina after photoreceptor loss.
abstract: Several strategies have been proposed to restore useful vision following photoreceptor degeneration. However, a very few studies have investigated late anatomical changes and functional state of residual retinal neurons after complete photoreceptor loss. We investigated the progressive degeneration of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) in P23H rats. The RGC multielectrode array recordings indicated lower firing rates, disappearance of broad-scale, and maintenance of short-scale pairwise correlations. Up to 11% of RGCs displayed repetitive and often correlated spike discharges, reminiscent of developmental rhythmic activity, which could be reversibly suppressed by blockade of the AMPA/kainite glutamate receptors. RGCs in P23H rats remain sensitive to local electrical stimulation, generating short-latency responses as in the normal retina. These results provide evidence that, despite the demonstrated RGC degeneration, remaining active RGCs maintain their basic physiological and network properties with some emerging functional changes such as the spontaneous rhythmic activity in late stages of the degenerative disease.
authors.affiliation: INSERM, UMR_S968, Institut de la Vision, F-75012, Paris.
authors.forename: Bogdan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kolomiets
authors.forename: Elisabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Dubus
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Simonutti
authors.forename: Serge
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rosolen
authors.forename: José A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Sahel
authors.forename: Serge
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Picaud
mesh_terms: D000200:Action Potentials / Q000235:genetics; D000222:Adaptation, Physiological / Q000235:genetics; D000818:Animals; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D018450:Disease Progression; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D004596:Electroretinography; D018691:Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D009410:Nerve Degeneration / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D009924:Organ Culture Techniques; D010507:Periodicity; D020419:Photoreceptor Cells, Vertebrate / Q000473:pathology*; D051381:Rats; D011922:Rats, Mutant Strains; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D017470:Receptors, Glutamate / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D020127:Recovery of Function / Q000235:genetics*; D012162:Retinal Degeneration / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012165:Retinal Ganglion Cells / Q000473:pathology* / Q000502:physiology; D009435:Synaptic Transmission / Q000235:genetics; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D018691:Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists; D017470:Receptors, Glutamate