title: Does Müller Cell Differentiation Occur Prior to the Emergence of Synapses in Embryonic Turtle Retina?
abstract: Müller cells are the main glial cells in the retina, and are related to plexiform layer activity. Recent studies have demonstrated that Müller cells are involved in the synaptic conservation, plasticity, development and metabolism of glutamate. During turtle retinal development, layers, cells and synapses appear at different times. The aim of this research is to study the emergence of Müller cells during embryonic development and their relationship with the synaptogenesis. The authors used retinas fromTrachemys scripta elegansembryos at stages S14, 18, 20, 23, and 26. Some retinas were processed with immunocytochemistry in order to detect the presence of glutamine synthetase in Müller cells, which was used as a marker of these cells. Other retinas from the same stages were processed for ultrastructural studies. Samples were observed in confocal and transmission electron microscopes, respectively. The present results show that glutamine synthetase expression in Müller cells occurs at S18, before the emergence of the retinal layers and the early synapses.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Biotecnología, Universidad de Alicante, Alicante 03080, Spain.
authors.forename: Yolanda
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Segovia
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Enfermería, Universidad de Alicante, Alicante 03080, Spain.
authors.forename: Rosa María
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Perez
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089-111, USA.
authors.forename: Norberto Mauricio
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Grzywacz
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Biotecnología, Universidad de Alicante, Alicante 03080, Spain.
authors.forename: Joaquin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: De Juan
keywords: Synaptogenesis; glutamine synthetase; immunochemistry; retinal development; ultrastructure