Abstract
Purpose :
Identify pannexin3 as an unique retinal ganglion cell (RGCs) marker.
Methods :
Morphological profiling and conventional immunohistochemistry were applied to RGCs in the young adult domestic cats. Pannexin3 (Panx3) antibody and RBPMS (a specific RGCs marker) antibody were used to label RGCs. Soma size and topographic distribution pattern of these RGCs was investigated by conventional light microscope and confocal imaging and analyzed with commercial software (Adobe Photoshop CS5 and Microsoft Excel 2016).
Results :
The present study shows that Panx3 antibody selectively labeled RGCs (Panx3-RGCs) of various soma size at different retinal locations. The peak density of Panx3-RGCs was at the center of area centralis and the density reduced with eccentricities. To quantify density distributions, total number of Panx3-RGCs at each sampling area were counted and four sampling areas at three eccentricities were selected. The averaged density were 2284±334/mm2, 921±166/mm2, and 442±92/mm2, at eccentricities 1mm, 3mm, and 5mm respectively. Next, Panx3 and RBPMS antibodies were used to double label RGCs. It was observed that, RBPMS-RGCs expressed Panx3 and vise versa. The average rate of colocalization reached 98 ±1.85 % at each sampling area (area size: 333um x 442um, or 0.147mm2 , N=12) at above three eccentricities.
Conclusions :
Current investigation provide direct morphological evidence that Panx3 could be used as a selective RGC marker in the cat retina.
This abstract was presented at the 2019 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Vancouver, Canada, April 28 - May 2, 2019.