Appearance of glutamate-like immunoreactivity during retinal regeneration in the adult newt

Abstract

The appearance of endogenous glutamate during retinal regeneration in the newt was examined by immunohistochemistry. Glutamate-like immunoreactivity (Glu-LI) first appeared in prospective ganglion cells along the vitreal margin of retinas that were about six cells thick, in prospective photoreceptors immediately before segregation of retinal plexiform layers and then in prospective bipolar cells immediately after the initial appearance of thin plexiform layers. In retinas nearing complete regeneration, Müller cells showed immunoreactivity. The appearance of glutamatergic phenotypes during retinal regeneration seemed to follow the order of cell differentiation [T. Saito, Y. Kaneko, F. Maruo, M. Niino, Y. Sakaki, Study of the regenerating newt retina by electrophysiology and immunohistochemistry (bipolar- and cone-specific antigen localization), J. Exp. Zool. 270 (1994) 491–500]. However, changes in the amount of endogenous glutamate during retinal regeneration were more complex. On the one hand, Glu-LI at the prospective ganglion cell layer temporarily increased during the initial period of segregation of the inner plexiform layer. On the other hand, immunoreactivity in the photoreceptor layer declined during segregation of the outer plexiform layer. The transient expression of immunoreactivity may represent a function of glutamate in events such as cell survival or neurite extension during retinal regeneration.