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Postnatal development of dopamine D 1 receptor immunoreactivity in the rat retina
Author(s) -
Koulen Peter
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
journal of neuroscience research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.72
H-Index - 160
eISSN - 1097-4547
pISSN - 0360-4012
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1097-4547(19990515)56:4<397::aid-jnr7>3.0.co;2-6
Subject(s) - inner plexiform layer , outer plexiform layer , retina , dopaminergic , biology , dopamine , dopamine receptor , ganglion cell layer , receptor , inner nuclear layer , dopamine receptor d1 , neuroscience , endocrinology , microbiology and biotechnology , medicine , biochemistry
Dopamine, an important neuromodulator in the retina, controls the balance of rod cone photoreceptor activity and influences the activity of several interneurons. The postnatal development of dopaminergic neurons, visualized immunocytochemically, was compared to the development of dopamine D 1 receptor immunoreactivity. Expression of D 1 receptors was monitored throughout the postnatal development of the rat retina using a subtype‐specific monoclonal antibody. D 1 receptors are expressed in the inner plexiform layer beginning at birth. Labeling of the inner plexiform layer changed from a diffuse pattern, staining the entire layer, to the typical adult punctate staining, that was organized in layered bands and occurred in the second postnatal week. The staining did not co‐localize with dopaminergic cells; instead, it co‐localized with cells in the inner nuclear layer or the ganglion cell layer. Within these cells, D 1 receptors were most heavily expressed in processes stratifying in the inner plexiform layer. Staining in the outer plexiform layer and in horizontal cells was found beginning in the second postnatal week. Clustering of the D 1 receptor within plexiform layers, a process typical for the well‐described function of dopamine modulation in the adult, occurred late in postnatal development. A possible function of D 1 receptors in neuronal development is discussed. J. Neurosci. Res. 56:397–404, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.