Tracking mouse visual pathways with WGA transgene

By use of wheat germ agglutinin (WGA) cDNA as a transgene, we have succeeded in generating a transgenic mouse line in which the visual pathways can be accurately and reproducibly visualized. The WGA transgene was expressed in the retinal rod bipolar cells under the control of mouse L7 promoter. The...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The European journal of neuroscience 2003-11, Vol.18 (10), p.2910-2914
Main Authors: Hanno, Yoko, Nakahira, Masakiyo, Jishage, Kou-ichi, Noda, Tetsuo, Yoshihara, Yoshihiro
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Biomarkers
bipolar cell
Calbindins
Glutamate-Ammonia Ligase - metabolism
Immunohistochemistry - methods
In Situ Hybridization - methods
L7 promoter
Membrane Proteins - metabolism
Mice
Mice, Inbred Strains
Mice, Neurologic Mutants
Mice, Transgenic
Qa-SNARE Proteins
Retina - metabolism
retinal degeneration
Retinal Degeneration - genetics
Retinal Degeneration - metabolism
RNA, Messenger - metabolism
S100 Calcium Binding Protein G - metabolism
Staining and Labeling
Time Factors
Transgenes - physiology
transgenic mouse
Visual Pathways - anatomy & histology
Visual Pathways - physiology
wheat germ agglutinin
Wheat Germ Agglutinins - genetics
Wheat Germ Agglutinins - metabolism
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Summary:By use of wheat germ agglutinin (WGA) cDNA as a transgene, we have succeeded in generating a transgenic mouse line in which the visual pathways can be accurately and reproducibly visualized. The WGA transgene was expressed in the retinal rod bipolar cells under the control of mouse L7 promoter. The transgene product, WGA protein, was transferred from the bipolar cells to the amacrine cells and the ganglion cells across synapses in the retinal neural circuitry and further conveyed along the optic nerve to the visual centers such as the suprachiasmatic nucleus, the lateral geniculate nucleus, the pretectal nucleus and the superior colliculus. By crossing the WGA‐expressing transgenic mice with the retinal degeneration mutant mice, we analyzed change in the visual pathways by monitoring WGA immunoreactivity and found that the disorganization process of the visual pathways was relatively slow in spite of the rapid degeneration of the photoreceptor cells. Thus, this transgenic mouse line would provide a useful tool for analyzing phenotypic changes in the visual pathways of various mutant mice.
ISSN:0953-816X
1460-9568
DOI:10.1111/j.1460-9568.2003.03023.x