Alterations in the differentiation of chick retina caused by an intraocular injection of an alkaline phosphatase inhibitor.

Intense alkaline phosphatase (ALPase) activity has been localized in the outer plexiform layer of the developing chick retina. To elucidate the functional significance of this enzymatic activity, we have injected an ALPase inhibitor, levamisole, into embryonic eyes on either the 13th or 15th day of incubation. The retina was fixed between the 15th and 20th day of incubation and examined by electron microscopy. Levamisole injection on the 13th day caused various morphological alterations in retinal development, including the appearance of solitary photoreceptor cells in the subretinal space as well as folding of both the outer plexiform and outer nuclear layers. Pedicles of photoreceptor cells in the outer plexiform layer displayed rather smooth configurations with a reduced number of invaginations by post-synaptic neurites. The outer plexiform layer was thinned and the neuritic extensions in this layer appeared much less developed than in the control (PBS-injected) retina. Photoreceptor outer segments were seldom observed. Besides these alterations, layers of optic fibers and ganglion cells were also affected, as shown by evidence of degeneration in the ganglion cells and thinning of the nerve-fiber layer. Injection of levamisole into day 15 embryonic eyes exerted less influence on retinal development, but some photoreceptor cells were still found in the subretinal space. Some of these observations have been reported in the retinas of aged normal animals or in retinas with hereditary or induced retinal dystrophy. It is suggested that ALPase activity in the outer plexiform layer of the developing chick retina may be important for the onset of normal development of synapses in the outer plexiform layer and differentiation of the photoreceptor cells.