Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science Cover Image for Volume 59, Issue 9
July 2018
Volume 59, Issue 9
Open Access
ARVO Annual Meeting Abstract  |   July 2018
The consequences of selectively knocking down key metabolic genes in Müller cells of the mouse retina
Weiyong Shen; So-Ra Lee; Michelle X. Yam; Nigel L Barnett; Ashish Easow Mathai; Rui Zhang; Ling Zhu; James Hurley; Jianhai Du; Pankaj Seth; Yoshio Hirabayashi; Shigeki Furuya; Mark C Gillies
Author Affiliations & Notes
  • Weiyong Shen
    Clin Ophthal & Eye Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
  • So-Ra Lee
    Clin Ophthal & Eye Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
  • Michelle X. Yam
    Clin Ophthal & Eye Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
  • Nigel L Barnett
    Queensland Eye Institute, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
  • Ashish Easow Mathai
    Clin Ophthal & Eye Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
  • Rui Zhang
    Clin Ophthal & Eye Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
  • Ling Zhu
    Clin Ophthal & Eye Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
  • James Hurley
    Dept. of Biochemistry and Ophthalmology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States
  • Jianhai Du
    Dept. of Biochemistry and Ophthalmology, West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia, United States
  • Pankaj Seth
    Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center , Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States
  • Yoshio Hirabayashi
    RIKEN Brain Science Institute, Wako, Japan
  • Shigeki Furuya
    Laboratory of Metabolic Regulation Research, Kyushu University Bio-Architecture Center, Fukuoka, Japan
  • Mark C Gillies
    Clin Ophthal & Eye Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
  • Footnotes
    Commercial Relationships   Weiyong Shen, None; So-Ra Lee, None; Michelle X. Yam, None; Nigel Barnett, None; Ashish Easow Mathai, None; Rui Zhang, None; Ling Zhu, None; James Hurley, None; Jianhai Du, None; Pankaj Seth, None; Yoshio Hirabayashi, None; Shigeki Furuya, None; Mark Gillies, None
  • Footnotes
    Support  This project was supported by grants from the Lowy Medical Research Institute, Australia National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and Ophthalmic Research Institute of Australia.
Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science July 2018, Vol.59, 1492. doi:
  • Views
  • Share
  • Tools
    • Alerts
      User Alerts
      You are adding an alert for:
      The consequences of selectively knocking down key metabolic genes in Müller cells of the mouse retina
      You will receive an email whenever this article is corrected, updated, or cited in the literature. You can manage this and all other alerts in My Account
      The alert will be sent to:
      ×
      This feature is available to authenticated users only.
      Sign In or Create an Account ×
    • Get Citation
      Citation

      Weiyong Shen, So-Ra Lee, Michelle X. Yam, Nigel L Barnett, Ashish Easow Mathai, Rui Zhang, Ling Zhu, James Hurley, Jianhai Du, Pankaj Seth, Yoshio Hirabayashi, Shigeki Furuya, Mark C Gillies; The consequences of selectively knocking down key metabolic genes in Müller cells of the mouse retina. Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. 2018;59(9):1492.

      Download citation file:

      © ARVO (1962-2015); The Authors (2016-present)

      ×
    • Get Permissions
  • Supplements
Abstract

Purpose : Derangement of glucose metabolism is a potential cause of photoreceptor degeneration. We have previously shown that selectively ablating Müller cells leads to photoreceptor degeneration, indicating that Müller cells are critical for their survival (Shen et al. J Neurosci 2012). This project aimed to study the consequences of selectively knocking down key metabolic genes in Müller cells of the mouse retina.

Methods : Transgenic mice for inducible Müller cell-specific gene targeting (Rlbp1-CreER mice) were crossed with mice carrying floxed metabolic genes including insulin receptor (IR), hexokinase 2 (Hk2), lactate dehydrogenase A (LDH-A), pyruvate dehydrogenase E1α (PDH-E1α) and phosphoglycerate dehydrogenase (PHGDH). Rlbp1-CreER mice crossed with Cre reporter mice were used as controls. Changes in target gene expression and the rod and cone photoreceptors were studied by immunostaining and Western blots. Retinal function was assessed by dark-adapted flash electroretinography (ERG).

Results : Double label immunofluorescent staining indicated that Müller cells expressed IR, Hk2 and PHGDH but not LDH-A and PDH-E1α. Knocking down IR, HK2 and PHGDH in Müller cells resulted in photoreceptor degeneration 3-4 weeks after tamoxifen-induced Cre expression, as evidenced by the loss of cone photoreceptor apical processes after staining retinas with fluorescently labelled peanut agglutinin and antibodies against blue- and red-green opsin. These changes were accompanied by impaired retinal function as measured by ERG. We also found that knocking down PHGDH appeared to produce more profound effects on photoreceptor degeneration compared with knocking down IR and Hk2 in Müller cells. We did not observe any retinal abnormalities after crossing Rlbp1-CreER mice with transgenic lines carrying floxed LDH-A and PDH-E1α genes.

Conclusions : Our data suggest that Müller cells may use glucose through the upstream of aerobic glycolysis and the serine/glycine metabolic pathway to support photoreceptors in the mammalian retina.

This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2018 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Honolulu, Hawaii, April 29 - May 3, 2018.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives
Copyright © 2025 Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology.
×
×

This PDF is available to Subscribers Only

Sign in or purchase a subscription to access this content. ×

You must be signed into an individual account to use this feature.

×
This site uses cookies. By continuing to use our website, you are agreeing to our privacy policy.Accept