title: Nogo-A deletion increases the plasticity of the optokinetic response and changes retinal projection organization in the adult mouse visual system.
abstract: The inhibitory action of Nogo-A on axonal growth has been well described. However, much less is known about the effects that Nogo-A could exert on the plasticity of neuronal circuits under physiological conditions. We investigated the effects of Nogo-A knock-out (KO) on visual function of adult mice using the optokinetic response (OKR) and the monocular deprivation (MD)-induced OKR plasticity and analyzed the anatomical organization of the eye-specific retinal projections. The spatial frequency sensitivity was higher in intact Nogo-A KO than in wild-type (WT) mice. After MD, Nogo-A KO mice reached a significantly higher spatial frequency and contrast sensitivity. Bilateral ablation of the visual cortex did not affect the OKR sensitivity before MD but reduced the MD-induced enhancement of OKR by approximately 50% in Nogo-A KO and WT mice. These results suggest that cortical and subcortical brain structures contribute to the OKR plasticity. The tracing of retinal projections to the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus (dLGN) revealed that the segregation of eye-specific terminals was decreased in the adult Nogo-A KO dLGN compared with WT mice. Strikingly, MD of the right eye led to additional desegregation of retinal projections in the left dLGN of Nogo-A KO but not in WT mice. In particular, MD promoted ectopic varicosity formation in Nogo-A KO dLGN axons. The present data show that Nogo-A restricts visual experience-driven plasticity of the OKR and plays a role in the segregation and maintenance of retinal projections to the brain.
authors.affiliation: Brain Research Institute, University of Zurich/ETH, Winterthurerstrasse 190, Room 55J04, 8057, Zurich, Switzerland. guzik@hifo.uzh.ch.|Department of Health Sciences and Technology, ETH Zurich, 8057, Zurich, Switzerland. guzik@hifo.uzh.ch.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Guzik-Kornacka
authors.affiliation: Brain Research Institute, University of Zurich/ETH, Winterthurerstrasse 190, Room 55J04, 8057, Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: van der Bourg
authors.affiliation: Brain Research Institute, University of Zurich/ETH, Winterthurerstrasse 190, Room 55J04, 8057, Zurich, Switzerland.|Department of Health Sciences and Technology, ETH Zurich, 8057, Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Flora
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Vajda
authors.affiliation: Brain Research Institute, University of Zurich/ETH, Winterthurerstrasse 190, Room 55J04, 8057, Zurich, Switzerland.|Department of Health Sciences and Technology, ETH Zurich, 8057, Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Sandrine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Joly
authors.affiliation: Brain Research Institute, University of Zurich/ETH, Winterthurerstrasse 190, Room 55J04, 8057, Zurich, Switzerland.|Department of Health Sciences and Technology, ETH Zurich, 8057, Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Franziska
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Christ
authors.affiliation: Brain Research Institute, University of Zurich/ETH, Winterthurerstrasse 190, Room 55J04, 8057, Zurich, Switzerland.|Department of Health Sciences and Technology, ETH Zurich, 8057, Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Martin E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Schwab
authors.affiliation: Brain Research Institute, University of Zurich/ETH, Winterthurerstrasse 190, Room 55J04, 8057, Zurich, Switzerland. vincent.pernet.1@ulaval.ca.|Department of Health Sciences and Technology, ETH Zurich, 8057, Zurich, Switzerland. vincent.pernet.1@ulaval.ca.|CUO-Recherche, Hôpital St-Sacrement, CRCHU of Québec/University Laval, Local # H2-06, 1050 Chemin Ste-Foy, Québec, QC, G1S 4L8, Canada. vincent.pernet.1@ulaval.ca.
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Pernet
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001766:Blindness / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000503:physiopathology; D015350:Contrast Sensitivity; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D017353:Gene Deletion; D005838:Genotype; D008297:Male; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D009185:Myelin Proteins / Q000172:deficiency* / Q000235:genetics; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity; D000070798:Nogo Proteins; D017120:Nystagmus, Optokinetic; D009900:Optic Nerve / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000503:physiopathology; D010641:Phenotype; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D012160:Retina / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000503:physiopathology; D065854:Spatial Navigation; D013997:Time Factors; D014785:Vision, Ocular; D014793:Visual Cortex / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery; D014795:Visual Pathways / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology
chemical_list: D009185:Myelin Proteins; D000070798:Nogo Proteins; C000603201:Rtn4 protein, mouse
keywords: Monocular deprivation; Optokinetic response; Plasticity; Retinogeniculate projections; Subcortical visual system