Morphology Of Retinal Ganglion Cells Research Articles

Effects of visual deprivation upon the morphology of retinal ganglion cells projecting to the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus of the cat

Effects of visual deprivation upon the morphology of retinal ganglion cells projecting to the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus of the cat

Retinal ganglion cell response to nerve growth factor in the regenerating and intact visual system of the goldfish Carassius auratus

Light and electron microscopic observations indicated that 1 μg NGF injected into the goldfish eye at the time of optic nerve crush initiated significant retinal ganglion cell body, nuclear and nucleolar hypertrophy when compared to controls at 7 days post-axotomy (7 DPA). In addition, the ultrastructural morphometric values for NGF-treated retinal ganglion cells at 7 DPA were not significantly different from the normal hypertrophy found in 14 DPA controls. Therefore, it appears that NGF treatment caused an acceleration of the normal cell body response to axotomy by about a week. These responses were found to be specific for the NGF molecule and dose-dependent over a 100–1000 ng NGF concentration range. In contrast to the lesioned state, NGF treatment had no significant influence on intact, non-lesioned retinal ganglion cell morphology as measured by morphometric analysis. These results strongly indicate that the responsiveness of the goldfish retinal ganglion cells to NGF is initiated by the axotomy. Eyes treated with NGF in the same manner that elicited the dramatic retinal ganglion cell morphological changes at 7 DPA could also be shown to significantly increase neurite outgrowth from retinal explants cultured at the same post-operative period (i.e. 7 DPA).

Effect of colchicine on axonal transport and morphology of retinal ganglion cells

Intraocular injection of colchicine in doses which do not affect the protein synthesis in the retina has profound effects on the axonal transport of protein in the retinal ganglion cells of the rabbit. Rapid axonal transport in these cells is completely inhibited after treatment with relatively low amounts of colchicine. In contrast to this, a certain fraction of the slow axonal transport is resistant to colchicine treatment. Colchicine in doses which completely inhibits fast axonal transport caused discrete morphological changes in the perikaryon and in the axon of the retinal ganglion cell. No disappearance of microtubules and no general proliferation of neurofilaments was observed in the perikaryon of the retinal ganglion cells. There was a slight or moderate increase in the number of filaments in the intra-retinal part of the axons of the retinal ganglion cells.