Premium
Expression of Hsp27 in retinal ganglion cells of the rat during postnatal development
Author(s) -
Hawkes Erin L.,
KruegerNaug Anne Marie R.,
Nickerson Philip E.B.,
Myers Tanya L.,
Currie R. William,
Clarke David B.
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
journal of comparative neurology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.855
H-Index - 209
eISSN - 1096-9861
pISSN - 0021-9967
DOI - 10.1002/cne.20266
Subject(s) - hsp27 , biology , retina , superior colliculus , retinal , retinal ganglion cell , neuroscience , tectum , microbiology and biotechnology , heat shock protein , neuroepithelial cell , hsp70 , central nervous system , midbrain , genetics , neural stem cell , biochemistry , stem cell , gene
The small heat shock protein Hsp27 has been shown to protect neurons from apoptosis. We have recently shown the expression of Hsp27 in a subset of injured adult retinal ganglion cells (RGCs), a response that is muted by the administration of brain‐derived neurotrophic factor. This work has suggested a role for Hsp27 in the long‐term survival of RGCs following injury. The purpose of this study was to investigate the expression of Hsp27 during postnatal retinal development, based on Hsp27's role as a neuronal survival factor and on its up‐regulation in the adult injured retina. Expression of Hsp27 in the developing retina was examined at various times postnatally (between P0 and P24) by using immunohistochemical techniques. We report that Hsp27 expression peaks in the ganglion cell layer between P6 and P12 and is not detected at earlier (P0–P3) or later (P15–P24) times. Double labeling of the Hsp27‐positive cells with Fluorogold applied to the superior colliculus confirmed that Hsp27‐positive cells in the ganglion cell layer are RGCs. We have shown developmentally regulated expression of Hsp27 in RGCs of the postnatal rat. The retinal expression of Hsp27 correlates temporally with innervation of the tectum by late‐born RGCs and with onset of spontaneous retinotectal activity. We propose that the expression of Hsp27 may play an important role in retinal development during a critical period of RGC functional connectivity with the superior colliculus. J. Comp. Neurol. 478:143–148, 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.