PUBLICATION

Two ribeye Genes in Teleosts: The Role of Ribeye in Ribbon Formation and Bipolar Cell Development

Authors
Wan, L., Almers, W., and Chen, W.
ID
ZDB-PUB-050201-3
Date
2005
Source
The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience   25(4): 941-949 (Journal)
Registered Authors
Chen, Wenbiao
Keywords
Ribeye; optokinetic response; retina; synaptic ribbon; synaptogenesis; bipolar cells; apoptosis; morpholino antisense oligo
MeSH Terms
  • Animals
  • Apoptosis/physiology
  • Eye Proteins/genetics
  • Eye Proteins/physiology*
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental
  • Interneurons/physiology
  • Larva/growth & development
  • Oligodeoxyribonucleotides, Antisense
  • Photic Stimulation
  • Presynaptic Terminals/ultrastructure
  • Retina/anatomy & histology*
  • Retina/growth & development
  • Retina/physiology
  • Takifugu/anatomy & histology*
  • Takifugu/embryology
  • Takifugu/genetics
  • Takifugu/growth & development
  • Zebrafish/anatomy & histology*
  • Zebrafish/embryology
  • Zebrafish/genetics
  • Zebrafish/growth & development
PubMed
15673675 Full text @ J. Neurosci.
Abstract
Ribeye is the only known protein specific to synaptic ribbon, but its function is unclear. We show that the teleost fish, Fugu and zebrafish, have two ribeye genes, ribeye a and ribeye b. Whole-mount in situ hybridization revealed that ribeye a is expressed in tissues containing synaptic ribbons, including the pineal gland, inner ear, and retina. Ribeye b is absent in the pineal gland. In the retina, ribeye a is expressed in both photoreceptors and bipolar cells, whereas ribeye b is detected only in photoreceptors. To study the function of Ribeye a in retina, we depleted it by morpholino antisense oligos. Fish deficient in Ribeye a lack an optokinetic response and have shorter synaptic ribbons in photoreceptors and fewer synaptic ribbons in bipolar cells. Their bipolar cells still target Syntaxin-3 proteins to the inner plexiform layer and have abundant vsx1 mRNA. However, they lack large synaptic terminals and show increased apoptosis. Rod bipolar cells are fewer in number and/or deficient in PKCalpha. Recovery of Ribeye a levels rescues the optokinetic response, increases the number of PKCalpha-positive bipolar cells, and stops apoptosis. We conclude that Ribeye a is important for late steps in bipolar cell development.
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