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. 2014 Sep 1;2(3):100-106.
doi: 10.1007/s40135-014-0048-2.

Development of Retinal Amacrine Cells and Their Dendritic Stratification

Revathi Balasubramanian  1 , Lin Gan  1
Affiliations

Development of Retinal Amacrine Cells and Their Dendritic Stratification

Revathi Balasubramanian et al. Curr Ophthalmol Rep. .

Abstract

Themammalian retina containsmultiple neurons, each of which contributes differentially to visual processing. Of these retinal neurons, amacrine cells have recently come to prime light since they facilitate majority of visual processing that takes place in the retina. Amacrine cells are also the most diverse group of neurons in the retina, classified majorly based on the neurotransmitter type they express and morphology of their dendritic arbors. Currently, little is known about the molecular basis contributing to this diversity during development. Amacrine cells also contribute to most of the synapses in the inner plexiform layer and mediate visual information input from bipolar cells onto retinal ganglion cells. In this review, we will describe the current understanding of amacrine cell and cell subtype development. Furthermore, we will address the molecular basis of retinal lamination at the inner plexiform layer. Overall, our review will provide a developmental perspective of amacrine cell subtype classification and their dendritic stratification.

Keywords: Amacrine cells; Dendritic stratification; Retina; Retinogenesis; Transcription factors.

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Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure Revathi Balasubramanian and Lin Gan have declared no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Diagrammatic representation of retinal neurons in distinct retinal layers. a Localization of rod and cone photoreceptors and their cell bodies in the ONL; horizontal cells, bipolar cells, amacrine cells, and Müller glial cells in the INL; and retinal ganglion cells and displaced amacrine cells in the GCL. b Anti-calretinin staining (red) of the IPL marks 4 of the 5 sublaminas. S1 and S2 are in the OFF lamina, S4 and S5 are in the ON lamina, and S3 is a watershed region between the ON and OFF lamina. Sections are counterstained with DAPI (blue). R rod photoreceptor, C cone photoreceptor, M Müller glial cell, B bipolar cell, A amacrine cell, H horizontal cell, G retinal ganglion cell, ONL outer nuclear layer, OPL outer plexiform layer, INL inner nuclear layer, IPL inner plexiform layer, GCL ganglion cell layer (Color figure online)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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