INNER RETINAL NEURONS IN NORMAL AND DEGENERATING MICE

描述（申请人描述）：拟议的研究涉及 小鼠视网膜内层的形态学组织。这很重要 由于缺乏关于老鼠视网膜的信息， 小鼠作为动物模型的相关性越来越高，这要归功于 基因操纵的出现。我们建议继续研究 主要细胞群的鉴定和定量分布 在老鼠的视网膜内层。我们将建立一个解剖数据库， 作为科学家研究发展和 正常和遗传改变的哺乳动物的成年视网膜组织。 建立小鼠视网膜数据库的结果将是 立即：我们建议评估视网膜内层的形态完整性 遗传性光感受器退化小鼠的神经元。可能战略 用于治疗人类类似变性的药物包括光感受器 视网膜的移植和电子（假体）刺激。他们是 基于这样的假设，即内层视网膜根本不受 光感受器损失，但很少有实验证据表明这是 确实如此。相反，现有文献指出了一种具体的损失 视网膜神经元的损伤，这会损害任何恢复视力的努力， 通过光感受器的替换。 这项研究的任何结果都是有用的：如果没有观察到变化， 光感受器变性的形态或整体分布 单一类型的内部视网膜细胞，那么可以得出结论，内部 继发于光感受器的视网膜变化的相关性有限。如果 如果确定了选择性改变，则必须考虑到这些改变， 设计新的治疗策略他们也将成为候选人， 导致视锥细胞继发性退化的原因。

DESCRIPTION (Applicant's Description): The proposed research concerns the morphological organization of the inner retina of the mouse. This is important because of the paucity of information about the mouse retina, at a time when the mouse is gaining increasing relevance as an animal model thanks to the advent of genetic manipulations. We propose to continue a study concerning the identification and quantitative distribution of the major populations of cells in the inner retina of the mouse. We will build an anatomical database that can be used as a base of reference for scientists studying the development and the adult retinal organization in normal and genetically-altered mammals. The outcome of building a database for the retina of the mouse will be immediate: we propose to assess the morphological integrity of inner retinal neurons in mice with inherited photoreceptor degeneration. Possible strategies for treating similar degeneration in humans include photoreceptor transplantation and electronic (prosthetic) stimulation of the retina. They are based upon the assumption that the inner retina is not at all affected by photoreceptor loss, but there is very little experimental evidence that this is indeed true. On the contrary, the existing literature points to a specific loss of inner retinal neurons, which would impair any attempt to restore vision through photoreceptor replacement. Any outcome of this research is useful: if no changes are observed consequent to photoreceptor degeneration in either morphology or overall distribution of single types of inner retinal cells, then it can be concluded that inner retinal changes secondary to photoreceptor are of limited relevance. If selective alterations are identified, they have to be taken into account when devising new therapeutic strategies. They would also become candidates as contributors to the secondary degeneration of cones that follows loss of rods.