Vascular atrophy in the retinal degenerative rd mouse

JC Blanks, LV Johnson - Journal of Comparative Neurology, 1986 - Wiley Online Library
JC Blanks, LV Johnson
Journal of Comparative Neurology, 1986Wiley Online Library
We have observed that the lectin Ricinus communis agglutinin I (RCA), which binds to
terminal galaotose moieties, serves as a marker for vasculature in the mouse retina. The
binding of fluorescein‐isothiocyanate‐conjugated RCA was used to study the development
of retinal vasculature in normal mice and in rd (retinal degeneration) mutant mice, which
exhibit a massive loss of photoreceptor cells during the first month of life. In the normal
mouse, retinal capillaries develop in an ordered manner and are concentrated in three …
Abstract
We have observed that the lectin Ricinus communis agglutinin I (RCA), which binds to terminal galaotose moieties, serves as a marker for vasculature in the mouse retina. The binding of fluorescein‐isothiocyanate‐conjugated RCA was used to study the development of retinal vasculature in normal mice and in rd (retinal degeneration) mutant mice, which exhibit a massive loss of photoreceptor cells during the first month of life. In the normal mouse, retinal capillaries develop in an ordered manner and are concentrated in three major zones between the inner limiting membrane and the outer plexiform layer. In the rd mouse, the vessels appear to form normally but begin to degenerate by the end of the second postnatal week. By the end of the fourth postnatal week there is approximately a 35% reduction in the total number of vascular profiles in the rd retina compared to normal littermate controls. This reduction in vascularity is temporally associated with the photoreceptor degeneration.
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