Mammalian retinal Müller cells have circadian clock function.
Year: 2016
Type: article
Abstract: PURPOSE: To test whether Müller glia of the mammalian retina have circadian rhythms. METHODS: We used Müller glia cultures isolated from mouse lines or from humans and bioluminescent reporters of circadian clock genes to monitor molecular circadian rhythms. The clock gene dependence of the Müller cell rhythms was tested using clock gene knockout mouse lines or with siRNA for specific clock genes. RESULTS: We demonstrated that retinal Müller glia express canonical circadian clock genes, are capable of sustained circadian oscillations in isolation from other cell types, and exhibit unique features of their molecular circadian clock compared to the retina as a whole. Mouse and human Müller cells demonstrated circadian clock function; however, they exhibited species-specific differences in the gene dependence of their clocks. CONCLUSIONS: Müller cells are the first mammalian retinal cell type in which sustained circadian rhythms have been demonstrated in isolation from other retinal cells.
Source: Europe PMC (PubMed Central)
Institutions: Vanderbilt University, University of Memphis
Language: English
Subfield: Endocrine and Autonomic Systems
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
Awards: Circadian Organization of the Retina, Molecular, cellular and physiological mechanisms of the mammalian circadian clock, Molecular Mechanisms of Retinal Vascular Disease, Eunice Kennedy Shriver Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center at Vanderbilt University, Core Grant in Vision Research
OpenAlex ID: W2303447433