title: Pou4f1 and pou4f2 are dispensable for the long-term survival of adult retinal ganglion cells in mice.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the role of Pou4f1 and Pou4f2 in the survival of adult retinal ganglion cells (RGCs).
  
  
  METHODS
  Conditional alleles of Pou4f1 and Pou4f2 were generated (Pou4f1loxP and Pou4f2loxP respectively) for the removal of Pou4f1 and Pou4f2 in adult retinas. A tamoxifen-inducible Cre was used to delete Pou4f1 and Pou4f2 in adult mice and retinal sections and flat mounts were subjected to immunohistochemistry to confirm the deletion of both alleles and to quantify the changes in the number of RGCs and other retinal neurons. To determine the effect of loss of Pou4f1 and Pou4f2 on RGC survival after axonal injury, controlled optic nerve crush (CONC) was performed and RGC death was assessed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Pou4f1 and Pou4f2 were ablated two weeks after tamoxifen treatment. Retinal interneurons and Müller glial cells are not affected by the ablation of Pou4f1 or Pou4f2 or both. Although the deletion of both Pou4f1 and Pou4f2 slightly delays the death of RGCs at 3 days post-CONC in adult mice, it does not affect the cell death progress afterwards. Moreoever, deletion of Pou4f1 or Pou4f2 or both has no impact on the long-term viability of RGCs at up to 6 months post-tamoxifen treatment.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Pou4f1 and Pou4f2 are involved in the acute response to damage to RGCs but are dispensable for the long-term survival of adult RGC in mice.
authors.affiliation: Flaum Eye Institute and Department of Ophthalmology, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York, United States of America; Department of Ophthalmology, First Affiliated Hospital of Gannan Medical University, Ganzhou, Jiangxi, China.
authors.forename: Liang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Flaum Eye Institute and Department of Ophthalmology, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York, United States of America; Department of Ophthalmology, First Affiliated Hospital of Gannan Medical University, Ganzhou, Jiangxi, China.
authors.forename: Fang
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Flaum Eye Institute and Department of Ophthalmology, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York, United States of America.
authors.forename: Xiaoling
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.affiliation: Flaum Eye Institute and Department of Ophthalmology, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York, United States of America.
authors.forename: Jeffery
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Harder
authors.affiliation: Flaum Eye Institute and Department of Ophthalmology, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York, United States of America.
authors.forename: Kimberly
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Fernandes
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, First Affiliated Hospital of Gannan Medical University, Ganzhou, Jiangxi, China.
authors.forename: Xiang-yun
authors.initials: XY
authors.lastname: Zeng
authors.affiliation: Flaum Eye Institute and Department of Ophthalmology, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York, United States of America.
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Libby
authors.affiliation: Flaum Eye Institute and Department of Ophthalmology, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York, United States of America; College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
authors.forename: Lin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gan
mesh_terms: D000483:Alleles; D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000235:genetics; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000235:genetics; D017353:Gene Deletion; D055786:Gene Knockout Techniques; D023061:Gene Order; D056426:Genetic Loci; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D007395:Interneurons / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D009900:Optic Nerve / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000166:cytology; D010641:Phenotype; D012165:Retinal Ganglion Cells / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D013629:Tamoxifen / Q000494:pharmacology; D050819:Transcription Factor Brn-3A / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D050820:Transcription Factor Brn-3B / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; C494189:Pou4f1 protein, mouse; C085559:Pou4f2 protein, mouse; D050819:Transcription Factor Brn-3A; D050820:Transcription Factor Brn-3B; D013629:Tamoxifen
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