PURPOSE Photoreceptor genesis in the retina requires precise regulation of progenitor cell competence, cell cycle exit, and differentiation, although information around the mechanisms that govern these events currently is lacking. In zebrafish, the basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factor NeuroD governs photoreceptor genesis, but the signaling pathways through which NeuroD functions a...

AIMS To quantitatively analyse cone photoreceptor matrices on images captured on an adaptive optics (AO) camera and assess their correlation to well-established parameters in the retinal histology literature. METHODS High resolution retinal images were acquired from 10 healthy subjects, aged 20-35 years old, using an AO camera (rtx1, Imagine Eyes, France). Left eye images were captured at 5° ...

Several ubiquitously expressed genes encoding pre-mRNA splicing factors have been associated with autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa (adRP), including PRPF31, PRPF3 and PRPF8. Molecular mechanisms by which defects in pre-mRNA splicing factors cause photoreceptor degeneration are not clear. To investigate the role of pre-mRNA splicing in photoreceptor gene expression and function, we have b...

PURPOSE The ability of replication-deficient adenovirus to mediate gene transfer to retinal cells was evaluated. METHODS A replication-deficient adenoviral vector, AdCMV beta A.ntlacZ, which contains the bacterial beta-galactosidase (lacZ) reporter gene, was injected into the subretinal space of normal, rd, and rds strains of mice at various ages. The efficiency and duration of transgene expr...

PURPOSE The precise molecular cues required for photoreceptor development are still unknown. Pax6 and Crx are essential during early retinal development and for photoreceptor differentiation, respectively. The lipid molecule docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) has also been shown to promote photoreceptor differentiation. Pax6 expression during the early steps in photoreceptor development and whether the...

PURPOSE To determine the relationship between the presence of kinesin-2 and photoreceptor cell viability and opsin transport, by generating RHO-Cre transgenic mice and breeding them to mice with a floxed kinesin-2 motor gene. METHODS Different lines of RHO-Cre transgenic mice were generated and characterized by transgene expression, histology, and electrophysiology. Mice from one line, showin...

It has been long speculated that specific signals are transmitted from photoreceptors to the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE). However, such signals have not been identified. In this study, we examined the retinal expression and localization of acetylcholine-related molecules as putative candidates for these signals. Previous reports revealed that α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) a...

While the concept of a dermal light sense has existed for over a century, little progress has been made in our understanding of the mechanisms underlying dispersed photoreception and the evolutionary histories of dispersed photoreceptor cells. These cells historically have been difficult to locate and positively identify, but modern molecular techniques, integrated with existing behavioral, mor...

Understanding how individual photoreceptor cells factor in the spectral sensitivity of a visual system is essential to explain how they contribute to the visual ecology of the animal in question. Existing methods that model the absorption of visual pigments use templates which correspond closely to data from thin cross-sections of photoreceptor cells. However, few modeling approaches use a sing...

PURPOSE To elucidate the role of activated microglia and nitric oxide (NO) in photoreceptor apoptosis in rds mice, and to investigate the effect of minocycline treatment on rds mice. METHODS Photoreceptor apoptosis in rds mice was detected by terminal dUTP transferase nick end labeling (TUNEL). Retinal microglial cells were identified by CD11b antibody. The mRNA expression of inducible nitric...