title: Altered glial gene expression, density, and architecture in the visual cortex upon retinal degeneration.
abstract: Genes encoding the proteins of cytoskeletal intermediate filaments (IF) are tightly regulated, and they are important for establishing neural connections. However, it remains uncertain to what extent neurological disease alters IF gene expression or impacts cells that express IFs. In this study, we determined the onset of visual deficits in a mouse model of progressive retinal degeneration (Pde6b(-) mice; Pde6b(+) mice have normal vision) by observing murine responses to a visual task throughout development, from postnatal day (PND) 21 to adult (N=174 reliable observations). Using Q-PCR, we evaluated whether expression of the genes encoding two Type III IF proteins, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and vimentin was altered in the visual cortex before, during, and after the onset of visual deficits. Using immunohistochemical techniques, we investigated the impact of vision loss on the density and morphology of astrocytes that expressed GFAP and vimentin in the visual cortex. We found that Pde6b(-) mice displayed 1) evidence of blindness at PND 49, with visual deficits detected at PND 35, 2) reduced GFAP mRNA expression in the visual cortex between PND 28 and PND 49, and 3) an increased ratio of vimentin:GFAP-labeled astrocytes at PND 49 with reduced GFAP cell body area. Together, these findings demonstrate that retinal degeneration modifies cellular and molecular indices of glial plasticity in a visual system with drastically reduced visual input. The functional consequences of these structural changes remain uncertain.
authors: Biology Department, University of Michigan-Flint, Flint, MI 48502, USA.
authors: Ashley
authors: A
authors: Cornett
authors: Joseph F
authors: JF
authors: Sucic
authors: Dylan
authors: D
authors: Hillsburg
authors: Lindsay
authors: L
authors: Cyr
authors: Catherine
authors: C
authors: Johnson
authors: Anthony
authors: A
authors: Polanco
authors: Joe
authors: J
authors: Figuereo
authors: Kenneth
authors: K
authors: Cabine
authors: Nickole
authors: N
authors: Russo
authors: Ann
authors: A
authors: Sturtevant
authors: Michael K
authors: MK
authors: Jarvinen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D001253:Astrocytes / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental / Q000235:genetics; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008815:Mice, Inbred Strains; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D009457:Neuroglia / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D012162:Retinal Degeneration / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology*; D014786:Vision Disorders / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology; D014793:Visual Cortex / Q000254:growth & development / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins