Retinal Remodeling: Concerns, Emerging Remedies and Future Prospects

Deafferentation results not only in sensory loss, but also in a variety of alterations in the postsynaptic circuitry. These alterations may have detrimental impact on potential treatment strategies. Progressive loss of photoreceptors in retinal degenerative diseases, such as retinitis pigmentosa and...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Frontiers in cellular neuroscience 2016-02, Vol.10, p.38-38
Main Authors: Krishnamoorthy, Vidhyasankar, Cherukuri, Pitchaiah, Poria, Deepak, Goel, Manvi, Dagar, Sushma, Dhingra, Narender K
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Age
Degenerative diseases
Firing pattern
Gene therapy
Glial cells
Hypertrophy
Macular degeneration
Neurodegeneration
Neuronal-glial interactions
Neuroscience
Neurosciences
optogenetics
Oscillatory activity
Photoreceptors
Prostheses
Proteins
Retina
Retinal Degeneration
Retinal ganglion cells
retinal prostheses
Retinitis
Retinitis pigmentosa
Stem Cells
Therapeutic applications
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Summary:Deafferentation results not only in sensory loss, but also in a variety of alterations in the postsynaptic circuitry. These alterations may have detrimental impact on potential treatment strategies. Progressive loss of photoreceptors in retinal degenerative diseases, such as retinitis pigmentosa and age-related macular degeneration, leads to several changes in the remnant retinal circuitry. Müller glial cells undergo hypertrophy and form a glial seal. The second- and third-order retinal neurons undergo morphological, biochemical and physiological alterations. A result of these alterations is that retinal ganglion cells (RGCs), the output neurons of the retina, become hyperactive and exhibit spontaneous, oscillatory bursts of spikes. This aberrant electrical activity degrades the signal-to-noise ratio in RGC responses, and thus the quality of information they transmit to the brain. These changes in the remnant retina, collectively termed "retinal remodeling", pose challenges for genetic, cellular and bionic approaches to restore vision. It is therefore crucial to understand the nature of retinal remodeling, how it affects the ability of remnant retina to respond to novel therapeutic strategies, and how to ameliorate its effects. In this article, we discuss these topics, and suggest that the pathological state of the retinal output following photoreceptor loss is reversible, and therefore, amenable to restorative strategies.
ISSN:1662-5102
1662-5102
DOI:10.3389/fncel.2016.00038