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Expression and modulation of connexin30.2, a novel gap junction protein in the mouse retina

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 June 2010

LUIS PÉREZ DE SEVILLA MÜLLER ,
KARIN DEDEK ,
ULRIKE JANSSEN-BIENHOLD ,
ARNDT MEYER ,
MARIA M. KREUZBERG ,
SUSANNE LORENZ ,
KLAUS WILLECKE  and
RETO WEILER
LUIS PÉREZ DE SEVILLA MÜLLER
Affiliation:
Department of Neurobiology, University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
KARIN DEDEK
Affiliation:
Department of Neurobiology, University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
ULRIKE JANSSEN-BIENHOLD
Affiliation:
Department of Neurobiology, University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
ARNDT MEYER
Affiliation:
Department of Neurobiology, University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
MARIA M. KREUZBERG
Affiliation:
Institute for Genetics, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
SUSANNE LORENZ
Affiliation:
Department of Neurobiology, University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
KLAUS WILLECKE
Affiliation:
Institute for Genetics, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
RETO WEILER*
Affiliation:
Department of Neurobiology, University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
*
†Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Professor Reto Weiler, Department of Neurobiology, University of Oldenburg, P.O. Box 2503, D-26111 Oldenburg, Germany. E-mail: reto.weiler@uni-oldenburg.de
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Abstract

Mammalian retinae express multiple connexins that mediate the metabolic and electrical coupling of various cell types. In retinal neurons, only connexin36, connexin45, connexin50, and connexin57 have been described so far. Here, we present an analysis of a novel retinal connexin, connexin30.2 (Cx30.2), and its regulation in the mouse retina. To analyze the expression of Cx30.2, we used a transgenic mouse line in which the coding region of Cx30.2 was replaced by lacZ reporter DNA. We detected the lacZ signal in the nuclei of neurons located in the inner nuclear layer and the ganglion cell layer (GCL). In this study, we focused on the GCL and characterized the morphology of the Cx30.2-expressing cells. Using immunocytochemistry and intracellular dye injections, we found six different types of Cx30.2-expressing ganglion cells: one type of ON-OFF, three types of OFF, and two types of ON ganglion cells; among the latter was the RGA1 type. We show that RGA1 cells were heterologously coupled to numerous displaced amacrine cells. Our results suggest that these gap junction channels may be heterotypic, involving Cx30.2 and a connexin yet unidentified in the mouse retina. Gap junction coupling can be modulated by protein kinases, a process that plays a major role in retinal adaptation. Therefore, we studied the protein kinase–induced modulation of coupling between RGA1 and displaced amacrine cells. Our data provide evidence that coupling of RGA1 cells to displaced amacrine cells is mediated by Cx30.2 and that the extent of this coupling is modulated by protein kinase C.

Keywords

Electrical synapseGanglion cellsAmacrine cellsDye couplingPhosphorylation
Type
Research Articles
Information
Visual Neuroscience , Volume 27 , Issue 3-4 , July 2010 , pp. 91 - 101
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

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