Time course degeneration and expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein in mer-knockout mice.
BACKGROUND
Müller cells in the mammalian retina normally express low levels of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP); however, its expression is upregulated in response to the loss of retinal neurons. The change in expression of GFAP is one of the earliest indicators of retinal damage and is correlated with the time course of disease. The aim of this study was to investigate the time course of degeneration and the expression of GFAP in the retina of mer knockout mice.


METHODS
A total of 30 mer knockout mice, aged from 15 - 20 days to 1 year and 32 age-matched wild type mice as controls were tested. Immunohistochemistry was used to show the expression of GFAP in the central and peripheral retina of mer knockout and control mice at postnatal age of 15 days (P15d), 20 days (P20d), 4 weeks (P4w), 6 weeks (P6w), 8 weeks (P8w), 3 months (P3m), 6 months (P6m) and 1 years (P1y).


RESULTS
The expression of GFAP in the central and peripheral retina of wild type mice was limited to the retinal ganglion cell and nerve fiber layers. In the central retina of mer knockout mice, GFAP expression was upregulated at P4w and GFAP immunolabelling penetrates across the entire thickness of the retina at P8w; whereas in the peripheral retina, the GFAP expression was upregulated at P20d and GFAP immunolabelling penetrates the entire retina after P4w.


CONCLUSIONS
Increased expression of GFAP in Müller cells of mer knockout mice occur at P20d in the peripheral retina and P4w in the central retina. GFAP expression in Müller cells appears to be a secondary response to the loss of retinal neurons. Increased expression of GFAP may occur prior to any detectable morphological changes in the retina. This study suggests that the loss of retinal neurons may begin in the early stages of retinitis pigmentosa, prior to the discovery of any morphological changes in the retina.
Liang
Xiao-Ying
XY
Beijing Tongren Eye Center, Beijing Tongren Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences Key Laboratory, Beijing 100730, China.
Wang
Huai-Zhou
HZ
Wang
Ning-Li
NL
D000818:Animals; D005904:Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein / Q000378:metabolism*; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D051379:Mice; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D020794:Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases / Q000235:genetics; D012160:Retina / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology*; D012174:Retinitis Pigmentosa / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D000076202:c-Mer Tyrosine Kinase
D005904:Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; C490767:Mertk protein, mouse; D020794:Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases; D000076202:c-Mer Tyrosine Kinase