Afadin-deficient mouse retinas exhibit severe neuronal lamination defects but preserve visual functions.

ABSTRACT: Neural lamination is a common feature of the CNS, with several subcellular structures, such as adherens junctions (AJs), playing a role in this process. The retina is also heavily laminated, but it remains unclear how laminar formation impacts retinal cell morphology, synapse integrity, and overall retinal function. In this study, we demonstrate that the loss of afadin, a key component of AJs, in mice leads to significant pathological changes. These include the disruption of outer retinal lamination and a notable decrease as well as mislocalization of photoreceptors, their outer segments, and photoreceptor synapses. Interestingly, despite these severe impairments, we recorded small local field potentials, including the a- and b-waves. We also classified retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) into O

SUBMITTER: Ueno A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12721710 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature