title: Dark rearing maintains tyrosine hydroxylase expression in retinal amacrine cells following optic nerve transection.
abstract: The present study examined changes in retinal tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) expression in rats having undergone optic nerve transection and housed under a normal day/night cycle or in the dark. The aim was to investigate the effects of amacrine cells on axonal regeneration in retinal ganglion cells and on the synapses that transmit visual signals. The results revealed that retinal TH expression gradually decreased following optic nerve transection in rats housed under a normal day/night cycle, reaching a minimum at 5 days. In contrast, retinal TH expression decreased to a minimum at 1 day following optic nerve transection in dark reared rats, gradually increasing afterward and reaching a normal level at 5-7 days. The number of TH-positive synaptic particles correlated with the TH levels, indicating that dark rearing can help maintain TH expression during the synaptic degeneration stage (5-7 days after optic nerve injury) in retinal amacrine cells.
authors: Department of Human Anatomy and Neurobiology, Xiangya Medical College of Central South University, Changsha 410013, Hunan Province, China ; Department of Human Anatomy, University of South China, Hengyang 421001, Hunan Province, China.
authors: Wei
authors: W
authors: Wan
authors: Department of Human Anatomy, University of South China, Hengyang 421001, Hunan Province, China.
authors: Zhenghai
authors: Z
authors: Liu
authors: Department of Human Anatomy and Neurobiology, Xiangya Medical College of Central South University, Changsha 410013, Hunan Province, China.
authors: Xiaosheng
authors: X
authors: Wang
authors: Department of Human Anatomy and Neurobiology, Xiangya Medical College of Central South University, Changsha 410013, Hunan Province, China.
authors: Xuegang
authors: X
authors: Luo
keywords: amacrine cells; dark rearing; neural regeneration; optic nerve transection; peripheral nerve injury; tyrosine hydroxylase