PURPOSE: Duchenne muscular dystrophy is frequently associated with a reduced amplitude of b-wave under scotopic conditions in the electroretinogram. This suggests that the dystrophin gene-encoded proteins play a role in retinal neurotransmission. The abnormal neurotransmission has been attributed to altered expressions of C-terminal products of the dystrophin gene in the outer plexiform layer, where photoreceptor cells form synapses with secondary neurons. The present study was undertaken to determine the cellular distribution of each member of the dystrophin superfamily in rat retina. METHODS: Examined in the study were the developmental pattern of dystrophins in rat retinae that exhibit inherited progressive photoreceptor degeneration; dystrophins messengers expression in the outer and the inner retina of normal rats, prepared by mechanical fractionation through the outer plexiform layer; and immunolocalization of dystrophin proteins and utrophin in normal and degenerated adult rat retinae, with several antibodies prepared against specific regions of the dystrophin superfamily. RESULTS: The results showed that Dp260 is exclusively localized in photoreceptor cells; Dp140 seems to be present in perivascular astrocytes; the exon 78 spliced isoform of Dp71 and the unspliced form are located in Müller glial cells and in perivascular astrocytes, respectively. Müller glial cells also contain utrophin. CONCLUSIONS: Although the role of these membrane cytoskeletal proteins remains to be elucidated in retina, the results support the hypothesis that b-wave reduction may be caused by molecular anomalies of C-terminal products of the dystrophin gene expressed in both neuron and glial cells.
PURPOSE:Duchenne muscular dystrophy is frequently associated with a reduced amplitude of b-wave under scotopic conditions in the electroretinogram. This suggests that the dystrophin gene-encoded proteins play a role in retinal neurotransmission. The abnormal neurotransmission has been attributed to altered expressions of C-terminal products of the dystrophin gene in the outer plexiform layer, where photoreceptor cells form synapses with secondary neurons. The present study was undertaken to determine the cellular distribution of each member of the dystrophin superfamily in rat retina. METHODS: Examined in the study were the developmental pattern of dystrophins in rat retinae that exhibit inherited progressive photoreceptor degeneration; dystrophins messengers expression in the outer and the inner retina of normal rats, prepared by mechanical fractionation through the outer plexiform layer; and immunolocalization of dystrophin proteins and utrophin in normal and degenerated adult rat retinae, with several antibodies prepared against specific regions of the dystrophin superfamily. RESULTS: The results showed that Dp260 is exclusively localized in photoreceptor cells; Dp140 seems to be present in perivascular astrocytes; the exon 78 spliced isoform of Dp71 and the unspliced form are located in Müller glial cells and in perivascular astrocytes, respectively. Müller glial cells also contain utrophin. CONCLUSIONS: Although the role of these membrane cytoskeletal proteins remains to be elucidated in retina, the results support the hypothesis that b-wave reduction may be caused by molecular anomalies of C-terminal products of the dystrophin gene expressed in both neuron and glial cells.
Authors: Isabelle Audo; Kinga Bujakowska; Elise Orhan; Charlotte M Poloschek; Sabine Defoort-Dhellemmes; Isabelle Drumare; Susanne Kohl; Tien D Luu; Odile Lecompte; Eberhart Zrenner; Marie-Elise Lancelot; Aline Antonio; Aurore Germain; Christelle Michiels; Claire Audier; Mélanie Letexier; Jean-Paul Saraiva; Bart P Leroy; Francis L Munier; Saddek Mohand-Saïd; Birgit Lorenz; Christoph Friedburg; Markus Preising; Ulrich Kellner; Agnes B Renner; Veselina Moskova-Doumanova; Wolfgang Berger; Bernd Wissinger; Christian P Hamel; Daniel F Schorderet; Elfride De Baere; Dror Sharon; Eyal Banin; Samuel G Jacobson; Dominique Bonneau; Xavier Zanlonghi; Guylene Le Meur; Ingele Casteels; Robert Koenekoop; Vernon W Long; Francoise Meire; Katrina Prescott; Thomy de Ravel; Ian Simmons; Hoan Nguyen; Hélène Dollfus; Olivier Poch; Thierry Léveillard; Kim Nguyen-Ba-Charvet; José-Alain Sahel; Shomi S Bhattacharya; Christina Zeitz Journal: Am J Hum Genet Date: 2012-02-10 Impact factor: 11.025
Authors: Rafael Rodríguez-Muñoz; María Del Carmen Cárdenas-Aguayo; Víctor Alemán; Beatriz Osorio; Oscar Chávez-González; Alvaro Rendon; Dalila Martínez-Rojas; Marco Antonio Meraz-Ríos Journal: PLoS One Date: 2015-09-17 Impact factor: 3.240