%0 Journal Article
%T Distinct expression patterns of mitochondrially localized YFP in neuronal subsets in the retina of three transgenic mouse lines
%A Robert W Burgess
%A Peter G Fuerst
%J BMC Research Notes
%D 2010
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/1756-0500-3-253
%X The retinal expression profile of a mitochondria-localized yellow fluorescent protein (YFP) in each of three transgenic mouse lines was determined. Each line, Mito-R, Mito-Y and Mito-Z, expresses YFP in distinct and reproducible populations of retinal neurons. In the Mito-R line, YFP is expressed in most or all retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) and photoreceptors making this line useful for studying axonal transport in diseases such as glaucoma and photoreceptor degeneration related to transport of mitochondria into the inner segments. In the Mito-Y line, YFP is expressed in many cell types in the dorsal retina and in a rough mosaic population of RGCs in the rest of the retina, making this line useful for study of how retinal mosaics are organized. In the Mito-Z line, YFP is expressed in a subset of RGCs, amacrine cells, bipolar cells and photoreceptors. The Mito-Z line is inserted on the X-Chromosome, resulting in X-inactivation mosaicism in female mice carrying a single copy of the transgene. In the female hemizygous retina, expression is present in distinct clonal columns, making this transgenic line useful for analysis of clonal proliferation and lateral migration of retinal neurons.The retinal expression profiles of three transgenic mouse lines that express a mitochondrially localized YFP were characterized in this study. These lines will allow researchers to isolate and identify cell types within the retina and to study retinal mitochondrial trafficking and disease.The retina contains at least fifty-five distinct types of neurons that interact to form the functional circuitry of vision [1,2]. Retinal cell types are defined by a mixture of physiology, morphology, stratification of processes and antigenic markers [2-4]. Transgenic mouse strains that express fluorescent proteins have greatly enhanced understanding of the development and function of various populations of retinal neurons [3,5-7]. To further the development of such resources, three transgenic mouse lin
%U http://www.biomedcentral.com/1756-0500/3/253