Tag Archives: Selena Wirthlin

Comparative Anatomy And Connectivity Of The AII Amacrine Cell In Mouse And Rabbit Retina

This abstract was presented today, April 8th at the 2019 Association for Research in Vision and Opthalmology (ARVO) meetings in Vancouver, Canada by Selena Wirthlin, Crystal L. SigulinskyJames R. Anderson, Daniel P. Emrich, Christopher Rapp, Jeebika Dahal, Rebecca L. Pfeiffer, Kevin D. Rapp, Jia-Hui Yang, Carl B. Watt, Robert E. Marc and Bryan W. Jones.

Full resolution version here.

Purpose
Mouse retina structurally differs from rabbit retina, as it is thicker and vascularized, while the rabbit retina is thinner and avascular. The implications of these differences on neuronal morphology and connectivity is not known. This project compares the morphology and connectivity of the Aii amacrine cell (AC) with ultrastructural precision in connectomes of mouse (RC2) and rabbit (RC1) retina.

Methods
RC1 and RC2 are connectomes built by automated transmission electron microscopy at ultrastructural (2 nm/pixel) resolution. RC1 and RC2 are 0.25mm diameter volumes of retina. RC1 is from a 13 month old, female Dutch Belted rabbit. RC2 is from a 5 month old female C57BL/6J mouse. The Viking application was used to annotate Aii ACs in both connectomes.

Results
Mouse Aii ACs are noticeably elongated to span the thicker inner plexiform layer (IPL) and have a prominent neck region. Lobular appendages of Aii ACs in both species extend thin stalks from the soma, neck and proximal arboreal dendrites in the OFF sublamina, predominantly forming reciprocal synapses with OFF cone bipolar cells (BCs). In rabbits, multiple arboreal dendrites emerge from the base of the neck, branch and travel obliquely through the ON sublamina, and form gap junctions with ON cone BCs, neighbor Aii ACs, and itself. They extend laterally at the base of the IPL, collecting ribbon input from rod BCs. In contrast, mouse arboreal dendrites stem from a single primary dendrite that branches as it travels vertically through the IPL without self-branch interaction, terminating at variable depths that align with the more broadly ramified axon terminals of rod BCs. Conventional synapse to gap junction ratios reveal greater output in the OFF vs ON layer in mouse compared to rabbit. Notably, mouse Aii ACs form gap junctions with the descending axons of ON cone BCs as they pass its soma, in contrast to rabbit, where gap junctions do not form at contacts proximal to ON cone BC axon terminals.

Conclusions
Lateral expansion of rabbit Aii ACs may be attributable to eccentricity. However, morphological differences appear to mediate greater output to the OFF versus ON pathway in mouse. Synaptic partners are currently being analyzed. Comparative anatomy connectomics is essential for understanding possible implications of retinal structure on neuronal morphology and connectivity that may underlie network differences between the mouse and rabbit retina.

Marclab Off To ARVO2019

The Marclab is off to ARVO 2019 and eager to share some of what we’ve been up to over the past year.  We have undergraduate Jeebika Dahal presenting her work on the AII Amacrine Cell Connectivity Changes In Degenerating Retina on Sunday (see poster B0013 Abstract Number: 551 – B0013).  Undergraduate Selena Wirthlin will present her work on the Comparative Anatomy and Connectivity Of The AII Amacrine Cell In Mouse And Rabbit Retina on Sunday (poster B0010 Abstract Number: 548 – B0010). Undergraduate and US Navy veteran Jessica Garcia will present her work Sunday on OFF-layer Branches Of ON Cone Bipolar Cells In Early Retinal Degeneration (B0017 Abstract Number: 555 – B0017). And postdoc Crystal Sigulinsky will present her work on Coupling Architecture Of The Aii/ON Cone Bipolar Cell Network In Degenerate Retina in a platform presentation on Thursday at 11:15am (Abstract Number: 6441).

We hope to see you there!