|
|
||||||||
1 From the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Shogoin, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto; and 2 Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Graduate School of Biostudies, Kyoto University, Kitashirakawa, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, Japan.
| Abstract |
|---|
|
|
|---|
METHODS. The expression of N-cadherin, R-cadherin, cadherin-6, cadherin-8, and cadherin-11 in retinas at postnatal days 0 to 42 was analyzed by in situ hybridization of mRNA as well as by immunohistochemistry.
RESULTS. Each cadherin was expressed by different cell populations of the retina, and the following expression patterns were established by postnatal day 14: in the ganglion cell layer, all these molecules were expressed, but each occurred only in a subset of the cells. Likewise, in the inner nuclear layer, R-cadherin and cadherin-6 and -8 were expressed by a restricted population of amacrine cells, and cadherin-8 also by a subpopulation of bipolar cells. All horizontal cells expressed R-cadherin, and Müller cells expressed N-cadherin and cadherin-11. Proteins of R-cadherin and cadherin-6 were concentrated in neuropil layers.
CONCLUSIONS. The pattern of differential expression of the five cadherins supports the idea that these molecules may play a role in selective cell interactions within the heterogeneous cell pool of the neural retina.
| Introduction |
|---|
|
|
|---|
Recent studies demonstrated that cadherins and associated proteins, known as catenins, are localized in synaptic junctions, suggesting that they may play a role in the connection of pre- and postsynaptic membranes.2 In the brain, multiple cadherin subtypes are differentially expressed, each being detected in restricted brain nuclei or cortical sublayers.3 Analysis of these patterns revealed that the expression of each cadherin was correlated with neural connectivity. From these observations, each cadherin was proposed to take part in connecting neurons to their specific partners.3 It would be interesting to know if the same can be said for retinal circuits. Cadherin expression in the visual system was recently studied in chicken neural retina4 as well as in the optic tectum.5 6 Because the retinal circuits are better understood for mammalian species, we opted to map cadherin distribution in postnatal mouse retina. We studied five cadherin subtypes, that is, N-cadherin (N-cad), R-cadherin (R-cad), cadherin-6 (cad6), cadherin-8 (cad8), and cadherin-11 (cad11) and found that each cadherin subtype is expressed in a restricted population of retinal cells, supporting the view that cadherin adhesion receptors may play a role in selective cell associations in the retina, as they do in the brain.
| Materials and Methods |
|---|
|
|
|---|
In Situ Hybridization of mRNA
Retinas were fixed, and isolated as described below, except that
the enucleated eyes were postfixed for 12 hours. In situ hybridization
methods and the probes used for detection of N-cad, R-cad, cad6, cad8,
and cad11 were previously described.3
7
Hybridized signals
were visualized by the digoxigenin method, using BM purple (Boehringer
Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany).
Antibodies
The following antibodies were used: rat monoclonal antibodies to
mouse N-cad, MNCD2 and to mouse R-cad, MRCD57
; rabbit
polyclonal antiserum against mouse cad6; mouse monoclonal
anticalbindin-D antibody (Sigma Chemical Co., St. Louis, MO); rabbit
anti-tyrosine hydroxylase antibody (Chemicon International, Temecula,
CA); and mouse monoclonal anti-choline acetyltransferase antibody
(Boehringer Mannheim). Secondary antibodies labeled with
indocarbocyanin dye Cy3 were obtained from Chemicon International and
peroxidase-conjugated secondary antibodies from Amersham Pharmacia
Biotech (Buckinghamshire, England). Preparation of anti-cad8 antibodies
has been described elsewhere (Manabe T, Suzuki SC, Takeichi M, Chisaka
O, unpublished results).
Immunohistochemical and Immunoblotting Procedures
Immunohistochemistory was performed as described
previously.7
Briefly, mice were perfusion-fixed with
4% paraformaldehyde dissolved in HEPES-buffered Hanks balanced salt
solution (HBSS) before enucleation. Subsequently, the enucleated eyes
were postfixed for 2 hours at 4°C in 4% paraformaldehyde/HBSS,
washed for 5 minutes in phosphate-buffered saline, and then immersed in
a graded series of sucrose solutions (12%18% sucrose), embedded in
Tissue-Tek (Miles, Inc., Elkhart, IN), and frozen in liquid nitrogen.
Sections (10 µm) were cut on a cryostat. The samples were incubated
successively in methanol at -20°C for 20 minutes, in 5% skim milk
in TBS-Ca for 30 minutes, and in a solution of primary antibodies for
60 minutes at room temperature. They were then treated for 30 minutes
with secondary antibodies. For double-immunostaining, the same
procedures were repeated. Fluorescence was visualized under an
epifluorescence microscope (Zeiss Axioplan, Oberkochen, Germany) or a
confocal laser scanning microscope (Bio-Rad Laboratories, Hercules,
CA). For double-staining by RNA in situ hybridization and
immunostaining, the latter was carried out after the completion of the
in situ hybridization steps, and the immunostaining signals were
visualized by the dimethylaminoazobenzene reaction.
Immunoblotting was performed as described.7
| Results |
|---|
|
|
|---|
N-catenin and ß-catenin, during postnatal development
(P0P42) of the neural retina. N-cad and R-cad were expressed at a
constant level throughout the postnatal development (Fig. 1)
, and cad6 and cad11 showed a similar expression pattern (data not
shown). The levels of
N- and ß-catenin were also little changed,
although the proportion of the two isoforms of
N-catenin was
changed. An exception was that the cad8 level tended to decrease at
later postnatal stages (Fig. 1) .
|
|
R-Cadherin
At P0 to P3, strong signals were detected in a subset of
cells in the ganglion cell layer (GCL), and weaker signals were found
in the future amacrine layer. At P7, the relative intensity in the
amacrine signals increased, and in the deepest area of the inner
plexiform layer (IPL), new signals appeared from cells scattered along
the outer plexiform layer (OPL), the distribution of which suggested
them to be horizontal cells (see below for confirmation). Faint signals
were found also in the deep area of the outer nuclear layer (ONL). This
expression profile, in principle, continued to the adult stage. In the
amacrine and ganglion layers, only a subset of cells was positive (see
below).
Cadherin-6
At P0 to P3, sparsely distributed positive cells were found in
both the GCL and amacrine layer, and this pattern persisted throughout
development.
Cadherin-8
As found with R-cad and cad6, cad8 was detected in the GCL as well
as in the INL at P0 to P3. At P7, cad8 began to be expressed in the
deeper zone of the INL, and by P14, the signals in this zone had become
most prominent, whereas those in the GCL were diminished. In the adult,
a similar expression pattern was observed, although the western blot
analysis results indicated that the total cad8 protein level was
reduced by the adult stage.
Cadherin-11
This cadherin was also detected in a subpopulation of cells in the
GCL and INL at P0. At P3 to P7, cad11 signals became intense at the
middle zone of the INL, similar to that of N-cad. At P14, the cad11
signals became restricted to this zone, and this pattern was maintained
up to the adult stage. As noted for N-cad, the cad11-positive zone
corresponded to where Müller cell bodies were located.
Further Identification of Cadherin mRNA-Positive Cells
We analyzed cadherin-positive cells by use of cell typespecific
markers, focusing on the INL of the P14 retina. In the INL, subtypes of
amacrine cells can be immunostained with antibodies to
calbindin-D.9
To examine whether the calbindin-D
expression overlaps cadherin expression, we double-stained retinas for
calbindin-D with antibodies, and R-cad, cad6, or cad8 by in situ
hybridization. The results showed that some of R-cad and
cad6-positive cells also reacted with anticalbindin-D antibody
(Figs. 3A
3B
), but many were calbindin-Dnegative, indicating that the cell
population that expressed R-cad or cad6 was heterogeneous in terms of
calbindin-D expression. Most of the cad8-positive cells did not react
with the anticalbindin-D antibody (Fig. 3C)
. When we stained for
tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), a marker for dopaminergic amacrine
cells,10
its immunostaining signals coincided with weak
cad6 in situ hybridization signals (Fig. 3D)
. In this case, therefore,
all TH-positive cells seem to express cad6.
|
In the GCL, all the cadherins studied were expressed, but each appeared to occur only in a subpopulation of cells present in this layer. This was confirmed by whole-mount in situ hybridization of P14 retinas (see Figs. 3E 3F for examples of cad6 and N-cad, respectively). The size of the cadherin-positive cells in the GCL varied from small to large.
Immunostaining Analysis of Cadherin Expression
The in situ hybridization analysis provided information about
which cells expressed a given cadherin gene. We then determined the
distribution of proteins encoded by each cadherin gene. However, for
immunohistologic staining, the antibodies only to N-cad, R-cad, and
cad6 were available; accordingly, our analysis was restricted to these
three cadherins.
N-cad proteins were rather ubiquitously detected in the neural retina throughout development (Fig. 4) , despite the enrichment of its mRNA in putative Müller cells. In contrast, R-cad protein distribution was regional, and correlated with its mRNA expression profile (Fig. 4) . At PO to P3, strong immunostaining signals were found in the IPL as well as in some cells localized in the GCL. At P7, the IPL signals split into two zones, and this staining profile persisted to the adult stage. It should be noted that, after P7, a particular population of amacrine cells located deeper in the INL accumulated R-cad proteins in the cytoplasm of their soma (Figs. 5A 5B ).
|
|
Cad6 protein was confined to two narrow strata in the IPL (Figs. 5B right, 5C middle). Because this pattern was reminiscent of that of choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) (Fig. 5C left), known to be expressed by cholinergic amacrine cells,11 we double-stained for cad6 and ChAT and found that their expressions coincided (Fig. 5C right). We could not detect conspicuous immunostaining signals from TH-positive neurons, probably because the cad6 expression level in these cells was low. We also compared the staining results for R-cad and cad6 and found that their expressions did not overlap (Fig. 5B) , being complementary, indicating that they are accumulated in different zones of the IPL.
| Discussion |
|---|
|
|
|---|
On the other hand, R-cad, cad6, and cad8 were expressed by multiple cell types, but, in general, these molecules occurred in a limited subpopulation of cells for most cell types. This restricted distribution likely reflects the heterogeneity of each cell group. It should be noted that, in the amacrine layer, certain identified cell groups expressed a particular cadherin; for example, all TH-positive amacrine neurons expressed cad6 mRNA, and ChAT colocalized with cad6 proteins. These observations suggest that cells expressing a particular cadherin may represent a specific functional group, not only in the amacrine but also in other layers. Consistently, in the case of horizontal cells, which are less heterogeneous than are amacrine cells, they evenly expressed R-cad. Interestingly, however, the cadherin expression pattern did not always correlate with that of known markers, such as calbindin-D. Thus, cadherin expression may provide novel information for grouping of highly heterogeneous retinal cells.
Immunostaining for R-cad and cad6 proteins provides additional important information. Unlike the mRNA staining patterns, these proteins were concentrated in synapse-enriched zones, as previously found in chicken retina.4 Most likely, R-cad and cad6 proteins, once synthesized, are transported to synaptic areas, and are used for interneuronal connections at these sites. The differential distribution of R-cad and cad6 in the IPL implies that each may serve as connectors between restricted pairs of neurons.
To summarize, our findings support the hypothesis that each cadherin plays a role in grouping of selected cells in the heterogeneous retinal cell pool. This idea will be tested by future analyses, including gene knockout, electron microscopy, and electrophysiology studies.
| Acknowledgements |
|---|
| Footnotes |
|---|
Submitted for publication June 3, 1999; revised September 3, 1999; accepted September 29, 1999.
Commercial relationships policy: N.
Corresponding author: Masatoshi Takeichi, Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Graduate School of Biostudies, Kyoto University, Kitashirakawa, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8502, Japan. takeichi{at}take.biophys.kyoto-u.ac.jp
| References |
|---|
|
|
|---|
This article has been cited by other articles:
![]() |
C. B. Lupien, C. Bolduc, S. Landreville, and C. Salesse Comparison between the Gene Expression Profile of Human Muller Cells and Two Spontaneous Muller Cell Lines Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci., November 1, 2007; 48(11): 5229 - 5242. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
H.-J. Chen and Z.-Z. Ma N-Cadherin Expression in a Rat Model of Retinal Detachment and Reattachment Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci., April 1, 2007; 48(4): 1832 - 1838. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
L. Godinho, J. S. Mumm, P. R. Williams, E. H. Schroeter, A. Koerber, S. W. Park, S. D. Leach, and R. O. L. Wong Targeting of amacrine cell neurites to appropriate synaptic laminae in the developing zebrafish retina Development, November 15, 2005; 132(22): 5069 - 5079. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
M. N. Marchong, D. Chen, T. W. Corson, C. Lee, M. Harmandayan, E. Bowles, N. Chen, and B. L. Gallie Minimal 16q Genomic Loss Implicates Cadherin-11 in Retinoblastoma Mol. Cancer Res., September 1, 2004; 2(9): 495 - 503. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
M. I. Dorrell, E. Aguilar, C. Weber, and M. Friedlander Global Gene Expression Analysis of the Developing Postnatal Mouse Retina Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci., March 1, 2004; 45(3): 1009 - 1019. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
J. L. Goldberg How does an axon grow? Genes & Dev., April 15, 2003; 17(8): 941 - 958. [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
M. I. Dorrell, E. Aguilar, and M. Friedlander Retinal Vascular Development Is Mediated by Endothelial Filopodia, a Preexisting Astrocytic Template and Specific R-Cadherin Adhesion Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci., November 1, 2002; 43(11): 3500 - 3510. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
E. H. Van Aken, P. Papeleu, Patrick De Potter, E. Bruyneel, J. Philippe, S. Seregard, A. Kvanta, J.-J. De Laey, and M. M. Mareel Structure and Function of the N-Cadherin/Catenin Complex in Retinoblastoma Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci., March 1, 2002; 43(3): 595 - 602. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
M. R. Kreutz, K. Langnaese, D. C. Dieterich, C. I. Seidenbecher, W. Zuschratter, P. W. Beesley, and E. D. Gundelfinger Distribution of Transcript and Protein Isoforms of the Synaptic Glycoprotein Neuroplastin in Rat Retina Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci., July 1, 2001; 42(8): 1907 - 1914. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |