Date of Award:

5-1-1997

Document Type:

Thesis

Degree Name:

Master of Science (MS)

Department:

Biology

Committee Chair(s)

Dana K. Vaughan

Committee

Dana K. Vaughan

Committee

Peter C. Ruben

Committee

Greg Podgorski

Abstract

Immunolabelling of phosphorylated and nonphosphorylated neurofilaments in teleost retinal horizontal cells, which are nonspiking neurons, is described. Light microscopy (postembedding immunolabelling) of retinal tissue sections revealed nonphosphorylated neurofilaments localized to regions where horizontal cell axon terminals, dendrites, and somata are located. In contrast, phosphoneurofilaments were localized to regions where axons and axon terminals of various retinal neurons, including horizontal cells, are found, as in typical spiking central nervous system neurons. Electron microscopy (preembedding immunolabelling) demonstrated that phosphoneurofilaments were localized to cone horizontal cell axons and axon terminals. Immunolabelling of primary cell cultures, however, revealed that axon-specific distribution of phosphoneurofilaments in cone horizontal cells was lost; phosphoneurofilaments were found throughout the neuron, despite regeneration of an axon-like neurite. It is unknown if this phosphorylation of somatodendritic neurofilaments is a consequence or a cause of the loss of neuronal polarity induced by dissociation procedures, which typically remove horizontal cell axons and dendrites.

Included in

Biology Commons

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