Comparative study of the three neurofilament subunits within pigand human retinal ganglion cells

[摘要] Purpose: Neurofilaments (NF) are neuronal cytoskeletal componentsand immunostaining against them has been used to visualize retinalganglion cells (RGC) and their axons. Since the RGC cytoskeletonexhibits differential damage in diseases such as glaucoma, we examinedthe distribution of light, medium, and heavy NF subunits (NF-L, NF-M,and NF-H respectively) within normal human and porcine retinas, as afunction of RGC soma size and eccentricity.Methods: NF subunits were visualized with immunofluorescencetechniques using retinal sections and flatmounts from adult human andpig retinas that were incubated with specific antisera against the threeNF subunits. Porcine RGCs were retrogradely labeled with fluorogoldwhile human RGCs were identified based on their position within theinner retina and their relatively large somata.Results: NF-H and NF-M were distributed widely within all RGC somataand dendrites, whereas NF-L was more restricted to the perinuclear area.In addition, phosphorylated NF-H distribution varied with retinaleccentricity so a subpopulation of large RGCs located in the peripheralretina was intensely labeled with the antiserum recognizing thephosphorylated NF-H.Conclusions: We show that at least one of each of three NF subunitsis present in all RGCs in porcine and presumably in human retina, andthat NF distribution is very similar in RGCs of both species.

[学科分类] 生物化学/生物物理