INNER RETINAL NEURONS IN NORMAL AND DEGENERATING MICE

描述(申请人的描述)：拟议的研究涉及 小鼠视网膜内部的形态组织。这事很重要 由于缺乏关于小鼠视网膜的信息，在一个 小鼠作为动物模型的相关性越来越强，这要归功于 基因操作的出现。我们建议继续进行关于 主要细胞群的鉴定和数量分布 在小鼠的视网膜内。我们将建立一个解剖数据库，可以 为科学家研究该技术的发展和应用提供参考依据 正常和基因改变的哺乳动物的成年视网膜组织。 为小鼠的视网膜建立数据库的结果将是 即刻：我们建议评估视网膜内部的形态完整性 遗传性光感受器变性小鼠的神经元。可能的策略 用于治疗人类类似退化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 基于这样一种假设，即内部视网膜根本不受 光感受器丧失，但很少有实验证据表明这是 的确如此。相反，现有文献指出了一种具体的损失 视网膜内神经元，这将破坏任何恢复视力的尝试 通过光感受器替换。 这项研究的任何结果都是有用的：如果没有观察到相应的变化 光感受器变性无论是在形态上还是在整体分布上 单一类型的视网膜内细胞，则可以得出结论，内 继发于光感受器的视网膜改变相关性有限。如果 如果发现有选择性的变更，则在下列情况下必须考虑这些变更 设计新的治疗策略。他们也将成为候选人 导致视锥细胞二次退化的因素。

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.