Developmental control of rod number via a light-dependent retrograde pathway from intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells.

ABSTRACT: Photoreception is essential for the development of the visual system, shaping vision's first synapse to cortical development. Here, we find that the lighting environment controls developmental rod apoptosis via Opn4-expressing intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCs). Using genetics, sensory environment manipulations, and computational approaches, we establish a pathway where light-dependent glutamate released from ipRGCs is detected via a transiently expressed glutamate receptor (Grik3) on rod precursors within the inner retina. Communication between these cells is mediated by hybrid neurites on ipRGCs that sense light before eye opening. These structures span the ipRGC-rod precursor distance over development and contain the machinery for photoreception (Opn4) and neur

SUBMITTER: D'Souza SP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11537824 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature