The Major Cell Populations of the Mouse Retina

We report a quantitative analysis of the major populations of cells present in the retina of the C57 mouse. Rod and cone photoreceptors were counted using differential interference contrast microscopy in retinal whole mounts. Horizontal, bipolar, amacrine, and Müller cells were identified in serial...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of neuroscience 1998-11, Vol.18 (21), p.8936-8946
Main Authors: Jeon, Chang-Jin, Strettoi, Enrica, Masland, Richard H
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Axons - ultrastructure
Mice
Mice, Inbred C57BL
Microscopy, Confocal
Microscopy, Electron
Microscopy, Fluorescence
Microscopy, Interference
Retina - cytology
Retina - ultrastructure
Retinal Cone Photoreceptor Cells - cytology
Retinal Cone Photoreceptor Cells - ultrastructure
Retinal Ganglion Cells - cytology
Retinal Ganglion Cells - ultrastructure
Retinal Rod Photoreceptor Cells - cytology
Retinal Rod Photoreceptor Cells - ultrastructure
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Summary:We report a quantitative analysis of the major populations of cells present in the retina of the C57 mouse. Rod and cone photoreceptors were counted using differential interference contrast microscopy in retinal whole mounts. Horizontal, bipolar, amacrine, and Müller cells were identified in serial section electron micrographs assembled into serial montages. Ganglion cells and displaced amacrine cells were counted by subtracting the number of axons in the optic nerve, learned from electron microscopy, from the total neurons of the ganglion cell layer. The results provide a base of reference for future work on genetically altered animals and put into perspective certain recent studies. Comparable data are now available for the retinas of the rabbit and the monkey. With the exception of the monkey fovea, the inner nuclear layers of the three species contain populations of cells that are, overall, quite similar. This contradicts the previous belief that the retinas of lower mammals are "amacrine-dominated", and therefore more complex, than those of higher mammals.
ISSN:0270-6474
1529-2401
DOI:10.1523/jneurosci.18-21-08936.1998