K(+) currents fail to change in reactive retinal glial cells in a mouse model of glaucoma.

Purpose: To investigate the membrane physiology of Müller glial cells from retinae of DBA/2J mice (which develop ocular hypertension) and of C57BL/6 control mice of different ages.

Methods: Retinae were obtained at the ages of 3, 6, and 12 months from DBA/2J mice and from C57BL/6 controls. Immunohistochemistry was performed using antibodies against glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP).

Identification of P2Y receptor subtypes in human muller glial cells by physiology, single cell RT-PCR, and immunohistochemistry.

Purpose: Retinal Müller glial cells are known to express metabotropic P2Y receptors. The present study was conducted to identify certain subtypes of P2Y receptors in human Müller cells.

Methods: The patch-clamp technique was used to measure increases of Ca(2+)-dependent K+ currents mediated by the activation of P2Y receptors in freshly isolated human Müller cells.

Distribution of metabotropic P2Y receptors in the rat retina: a single-cell RT-PCR study.

P2Y receptors are metabotropic G-protein linked purinergic receptors, which are especially widespread in the central nervous system. The purpose of the present study was to determine the distribution patterns of P2Y receptors in distinct retinal cell types in the adult retina. Retinal ganglion cells (RGC), bipolar cells (BPC) and Muller cells (MC) of adult pigmented rats were analyzed for their expression of P2Y-receptor subtypes P2Y1, P2Y2, P2Y4, and P2Y6 by single-cell reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (SC-RT-PCR).

OPA1, the disease gene for autosomal dominant optic atrophy, is specifically expressed in ganglion cells and intrinsic neurons of the retina.

Purpose: Autosomal dominant optic atrophy is a hereditary disorder characterized by progressive loss of vision and caused by mutations in a dynamin-related gene, OPA1, which translates into a protein with a mitochondrial leader sequence. In this study the OPA1 gene and its protein were localized in the rat and mouse retina, and its rat orthologue, rOpa1, was identified.

Methods: The rOpa1 cDNA was isolated by using reverse transcribed cDNA from total RNA obtained from a rat retinal ganglion cell line.

Expression of P2Y1, P2Y2, P2Y4, and P2Y6 receptor subtypes in the rat retina.

Purpose: To elucidate the expression pattern of different types of metabotropic P2Y receptors in the adult rat retina.

Methods: Qualitative RT-PCR was used to investigate the expression profile of different P2Y receptor subtypes (P2Y1, P2Y2, P2Y4, and P2Y6), and in situ hybridization studies were performed to show their cellular localization within the retina. Immunohistochemical staining was used to detect the corresponding P2Y proteins (P2Y1, P2Y2, and P2Y4) and their cellular localization.

Isolation of the mouse nyctalopin gene nyx and expression studies in mouse and rat retina.

Purpose: It has been shown recently that mutations in NYX (nyctalopin on chromosome X), encoding a novel protein associated with the leucine-rich repeat (LRR) protein superfamily, are responsible for the complete form of X-linked congenital stationary night blindness (CSNB1). This study describes the isolation and molecular characterization of the mouse orthologue Nyx and its expression pattern in the retina.

Methods: Nyx was isolated by conventional DNA library screening and polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based approaches.