VE-Cadherin Is Required for Cardiac Lymphatic Maintenance and Signaling.

Background: The adherens protein VE-cadherin (vascular endothelial cadherin) has diverse roles in organ-specific lymphatic vessels. However, its physiological role in cardiac lymphatics and its interaction with lymphangiogenic factors has not been fully explored. We sought to determine the spatiotemporal functions of VE-cadherin in cardiac lymphatics and mechanistically elucidate how VE-cadherin loss influences prolymphangiogenic signaling pathways, such as adrenomedullin and VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor)-C/VEGFR3 (vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 3) signaling.

The actin depolymerizing factor destrin serves as a negative feedback inhibitor of smooth muscle cell differentiation.

We have previously shown that several components of the RhoA signaling pathway control smooth muscle cell (SMC) phenotype by altering serum response factor (SRF)-dependent gene expression. Because our genome-wide analyses of chromatin structure and transcription factor binding suggested that the actin depolymerizing factor, destrin (DSTN), was regulated in a SMC-selective fashion, the goals of the current study were to identify the transcription mechanisms that control DSTN expression in SMC and to test whether it regulates SMC function. Immunohistochemical analyses revealed strong and at least partially SMC-selective expression of DSTN in many mouse tissues, a result consistent with human data from the genotype-tissue expression (GTEx) consortium.

Visual Psychophysics in Head-Fixed Mice.

We describe a set of protocols for doing visual psychophysical experiments in head-fixed mice. The goal of this approach was to conduct in mice the same type of precise and well-controlled tests of visual perception and decision making as is commonly done in primates. For example, these experimental protocols were the basis for our demonstration that mice are capable of visual selective attention in paradigms adapted from classic attention cueing paradigms in primates.

A murine model of increased coronary sinus pressure induces myocardial edema with cardiac lymphatic dilation and fibrosis.

Myocardial edema is a consequence of many cardiovascular stressors, including myocardial infarction, cardiac bypass surgery, and hypertension. The aim of this study was to establish a murine model of myocardial edema and elucidate the response of cardiac lymphatics and the myocardium. Myocardial edema without infarction was induced in mice by cauterizing the coronary sinus, increasing pressure in the coronary venous system, and inducing myocardial edema.

Activation of Striatal Neurons Causes a Perceptual Decision Bias during Visual Change Detection in Mice.

The basal ganglia are implicated in perceptual decision-making, although their specific contributions remain unclear. Here, we tested the causal role of the basal ganglia by manipulating neuronal activity in the dorsal striatum of mice performing a visual orientation-change detection (yes/no) task. Brief unilateral optogenetic stimulation caused large changes in task performance, shifting psychometric curves upward by increasing the probability of "yes" responses with only minor changes in sensitivity.

The functional micro-organization of grid cells revealed by cellular-resolution imaging.

Establishing how grid cells are anatomically arranged, on a microscopic scale, in relation to their firing patterns in the environment would facilitate a greater microcircuit-level understanding of the brain's representation of space. However, all previous grid cell recordings used electrode techniques that provide limited descriptions of fine-scale organization. We therefore developed a technique for cellular-resolution functional imaging of medial entorhinal cortex (MEC) neurons in mice navigating a virtual linear track, enabling a new experimental approach to study MEC.

Overexpression of neurotrophin-3 stimulates a second wave of dopaminergic amacrine cell genesis after birth in the mouse retina.

Dopaminergic amacrine (DA) cells play multiple and important roles in retinal function. Neurotrophins are known to modulate the number and morphology of DA cells, but the underlying regulatory mechanisms are unclear. Here, we investigate how neurotrophin-3 (NT-3) regulates DA cell density in the mouse retina.

Detection of visual deficits in aging DBA/2J mice by two behavioral assays.

Purpose: The DBA/2J mice have been used as an animal model for human pigmentary glaucoma. However, these mice develop various degrees of disease symptoms at different ages, making it difficult to detect pathological changes of retinal degeneration at glaucoma onset. The purpose of this study is to develop a non-invasive assay to identify individual mice that develop visual deficits.

Visual receptive field properties of neurons in the superficial superior colliculus of the mouse.

The mouse is a promising model in the study of visual system function and development because of available genetic tools. However, a quantitative analysis of visual receptive field properties had not been performed in the mouse superior colliculus (SC) despite its importance in mouse vision and its usefulness in developmental studies. We have made single-unit extracellular recordings from superficial layers of the SC in urethane-anesthetized C57BL/6 mice.

Direction-specific disruption of subcortical visual behavior and receptive fields in mice lacking the beta2 subunit of nicotinic acetylcholine receptor.

Retinotopic mapping is a basic feature of visual system organization, but its role in processing visual information is unknown. Mutant mice lacking the beta2 subunit of nicotinic acetylcholine receptor have imprecise maps in both visual cortex (V1) and the superior colliculus (SC) due to the disruption of spontaneous retinal activity during development. Here, we use behavioral and physiological approaches to study their visual functions.