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PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
1
pubmed:dateCreated
2001-1-4
pubmed:abstractText
Retinitis pigmentosa (RP), a type of retinal degeneration involving first rod and then slow cone photoreceptor degeneration, can be caused by any of a number of mutations in different genes. In the cases of mutations affecting rod-specific genes such as rhodopsin, it is unclear how the mutations may cause degeneration of cones. We have used the porcine retina, which is rod-dominated and has an abundance of cones, to study the mutation-induced changes in both rod and cone photoreceptors. Like patients with the same mutation, rhodopsin P347L transgenic swine manifest rod-cone degeneration. In addition, the rod bipolar cells fail to form synaptic connections with rods; instead, they form ectopic synapses with cones. The mechanisms that prevent the formation of the rod-rod bipolar cell synaptic connection are not known. We used specific antibodies and immunocytochemistry to show that the synaptic protein, PSD-95, is present in both normal and transgenic porcine retinas. During neonatal development, however, PSD-95 is lost from rod terminals in the transgenic swine. This loss is virtually complete (90%) by postnatal day 5, at a time when greater than 80% of rod cell bodies still remain. Furthermore, the remaining rods retain their outer segments and their gross morphology appears relatively normal. In contrast, PSD-95 expression continues in cone terminals, even in 10-month-old transgenic swine, where the rods have all disappeared and the cones show signs of severe degeneration. These results suggest that loss of PSD-95 may not be a general consequence of the deteriorating cell. Rather, the very early and selective loss of PSD-95 from the rod terminals may be causally related to the absence of rod-rod bipolar cell synapses in the rhodopsin P347L transgenic retina.
pubmed:grant
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Dec
pubmed:issn
0006-8993
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:day
1
pubmed:volume
885
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
53-61
pubmed:dateRevised
2008-11-21
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
2000
pubmed:articleTitle
Early loss of synaptic protein PSD-95 from rod terminals of rhodopsin P347L transgenic porcine retina.
pubmed:affiliation
Department of Ophthalmology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC 27710, USA.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S., Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't