Purpose:
To develop a technique to produce time-lapse images of individualretinal ganglion cells (RGCs), their dendrites and axons invivo.
Methods:
A standard confocal laser scanning microscope, transgenic micethat express yellow fluorescent protein (YFP) in a subset ofRGCs, and survival anesthesia techniques were utilized.
Results:
The same individual RGCs with their dendritic arbors and axonswere multiply imaged on separate days in vivo in both adult(Figure 1 and Figure 3 left and middle panels) and juvenilemice. Additionally, the same RGC that was imaged in vivo couldthen be located and imaged in fixed retinal whole mount preparations(Figures 2 and 3; right panels show fixed tissue, left panelsare images taken in vivo).
Conclusions:
We have developed a technique that permits time-lapse imagingof RGCs and their cellular processes in mammals in vivo forthe first time. This novel technique has many potential applications.
Keywords: retina: proximal (bipolar, amacrine, and ganglion cells)