Nitric oxide synthase immunoreactivity in the developing and adult human retina |
| |
Authors: | Shashi Wadhwa Tapas C Nag |
| |
Institution: | (1) Department of Anatomy, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, 110 029 New Delhi, India |
| |
Abstract: | Nitric oxide synthase (NOS) catalyzes the formation of nitric oxide (NO) from L-arginine. In this study, the cellular localization
of neuronal NOS (nNOS) activity in the human retina since fetal development was examined by immunohistochemistry. No detectable
staining in the fetal retina was present at 14 weeks of gestation (wg), the earliest age group examined. A centro-peripheral
gradient of development of nNOS immunoreactivity was evident at 16–17 wg, with the midperipheral retina showing nNOS immunoreactivity
in most of the cell types and the inner plexiform layer while the peripheral part demonstrated moderate immunoreactivity only
in the ganglion cell layer and photoreceptor precursors. A transient increase in nNOS immunoreactivity in the ganglion cells
and Müller cell endfeet between 18–19 and 24–25 wg was observed at the time when programmed cell death in the ganglion cell
layer, loss of optic nerve fibres as well as increase in glutamate immunoreactivity and parvalbumin (a calcium binding protein)
immunoreactivity in the ganglion cells was reported. These observations indicate that programmed cell death of ganglion cells
in the retina may be linked to glutamate toxicity and NO activity, as also suggested by others in the retina and cerebral
cortex.
The presence of nNOS immunoreactivity in the photoreceptors from 16–17 weeks of fetal life to adulthood indicates other functions,
besides their involvement in photoreceptor function of transduction and information processing. |
| |
Keywords: | Nitric oxide synthase immunohistochemistry human retina |
本文献已被 SpringerLink 等数据库收录! |
|