Adenosine A(2A) receptor up-regulates retinal wave frequency via starburst amacrine cells in the developing rat retina.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Developing retinas display retinal waves, the patterned spontaneous activity essential for circuit refinement. During the first postnatal week in rodents, retinal waves are mediated by synaptic transmission between starburst amacrine cells (SACs) and retinal ganglion cells (RGCs). The neuromodulator adenosine is essential for the generation of retinal waves. However, the cellular basis underlying adenosine's regulation of retinal waves remains elusive. Here, we investigated whether and how the adenosine A(2A) receptor (A(2A)R) regulates retinal waves and whether A(2A)R regulation of retinal waves acts via presynaptic SACs.

Methodology/principal findings

We showed that A(2A)R was expressed in the inner plexiform layer and ganglion cell layer of the developing rat r

SUBMITTER: Huang PC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4002430 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature