PUBLICATION
Spatial regulation of amacrine cell genesis by Semaphorin 3f
- Authors
- Hehr, C.L., Halabi, R., McFarlane, S.
- ID
- ZDB-PUB-220907-29
- Date
- 2022
- Source
- Developmental Biology 491: 66-81 (Journal)
- Registered Authors
- Halabi, Rami, Hehr, Carrie, McFarlane, Sarah
- Keywords
- Progenitor, Retina, Sema3fa, Temporal eye, Zebrafish
- MeSH Terms
-
- Amacrine Cells*/metabolism
- Animals
- Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental
- Retina
- Semaphorins*/genetics
- Semaphorins*/metabolism
- Transcription Factors/genetics
- Transcription Factors/metabolism
- Zebrafish
- PubMed
- 36058267 Full text @ Dev. Biol.
Citation
Hehr, C.L., Halabi, R., McFarlane, S. (2022) Spatial regulation of amacrine cell genesis by Semaphorin 3f. Developmental Biology. 491:66-81.
Abstract
Purpose The axonal projections of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) of the eye are topographically organized so that spatial information from visual images is preserved. This retinotopic organization is established during development by secreted morphogens that pattern domains of transcription factor expression within naso-temporal and dorso-ventral quadrants of the embryonic eye. Poorly understood are the downstream signaling molecules that generate the topographically organized retinal cells and circuits. The secreted signaling molecule Semaphorin 3fa (Sema3fa) belongs to the Sema family of molecules that provide positional information to developing cells. Here, we test a role for Sema3fa in cell genesis of the temporal zebrafish retina.
Methods We compare retinal cell genesis in wild type and sema3fa CRISPR zebrafish mutants by in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry.
Results We find that mRNAs for sema3fa and known receptors, neuropilin2b (nrp2b) and plexina1a (plxna1a), are expressed by progenitors of the temporal, but not nasal zebrafish embryonic retina. In the sema3faca304/ca304 embryo, initially the domains of expression for atoh7 and neurod4, transcription factors necessary for the specification of RGCs and amacrine cells, respectively, are disrupted. Yet, post-embryonically only amacrine cells of the temporal retina are reduced in numbers, with both GABAergic and glycinergic subtypes affected.
Conclusions These data suggest that Sema3fa acts early on embryonic temporal progenitors to control in a spatially-dependent manner the production of amacrine cells, possibly to allow the establishment of neural circuits with domain-specific functions. We propose that spatially restricted extrinsic signals in the neural retina control cell genesis in a domain-dependent manner.
Genes / Markers
Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping