Linnéa Taylor

Stretch To See - Lateral tension strongly determines cell survival in long-term cultures of adult porcine retina.

PURPOSE To explore the effect of lateral tension as a survival factor for retinal explants in vitro. The central nervous system (CNS) resides in a highly mechanical milieu. However, the importance of biomechanical homeostasis for normal CNS function has not been extensively explored. Diseases in which normal mechanical forces are disrupted, such as retinal detachment of the eye, are highly debilitating and the mechanisms underlying disease progression are not fully understood. METHODS Using a porcine animal model, we developed a novel technique of culturing adult retinal explants under stretch for up to 10 days in vitro (DIV). These were compared with standard (no stretch) and free-floating cultured explants. Cell survival was analyzed using immunohistochemistry, and retinal architecture using hematoxylin and eosin staining. RESULTS Compared with unstretched specimens, which at 10 DIV degenerated into a gliotic cell mass, stretched retinas displayed a profound preservation of the laminar retinal architecture as well as significantly increased neuronal cell survival, with no signs of impending gliosis. CONCLUSIONS The results confirm that biomechanical tension is a vital factor in the maintenance of retinal tissue integrity, and suggest that mechanical cues are important components of pathologic responses within the CNS.

Feet on the ground: Physical support of the inner retina is a strong determinant for cell survival and structural preservation in vitro.

PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to explore the importance of local physical tissue support for homeostasis in the isolated retina. METHODS Full-thickness retinal sheets were isolated from adult porcine eyes. Retinas were cultured for 5 or 10 days using the previously established explant protocol with photoreceptors positioned against the culture membrane (porous polycarbonate) or the Müller cell endfeet and inner limiting membrane (ILM) apposed against the membrane. The explants were analyzed morphologically using hematoxylin and eosin staining, immunohistochemistry, TUNEL labeling, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). RESULTS Standard cultures displayed a progressive loss of retinal lamination and extensive cell death, with activated, hypertrophic Müller cells. In contrast, explants cultured with the ILM facing the membrane displayed a maintenance of the retinal laminar architecture, and a statistically significant attenuation of photoreceptor and ganglion cell death. Transmission electron microscopy revealed intact synapses as well as preservation of normal cellular membrane structures. Immunohistochemistry showed no signs of Müller cell activation (glial fibrillary acidic protein [GFAP]), with maintained expression of important metabolic markers (glutamine synthetae [GS], bFGF). CONCLUSIONS Providing physical support to the inner but not the outer retina appears to prevent the tissue collapse resulting from perturbation of the normal biomechanical milieu in the isolated retinal sheet. Using this novel paradigm, gliotic reactions are attenuated and metabolic processes vital for tissue health are preserved, which significantly increases neuronal cell survival. This finding opens up new avenues of adult retinal tissue culture research and increases our understanding of pathological reactions in biomechanically related conditions in vivo.

Effects of Glial Cell Line-derived Neurotrophic Factor on the Cultured Adult Full-thickness Porcine Retina.

Abstract Background: The tissue culture system offers a possibility to study factors involved in neuronal survival which may be important in a transplantation paradigm. The use of adult tissue in this setting poses specific challenges since traditionally mature neurons survive poorly in vitro. In the current paper, we have explored effects of glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) on cultures of adult porcine retina. Methods: Full-thickness retinal sheets were isolated from adult porcine eyes and were cultured for 5 or 10 days under standard culture conditions with or without GDNF added to the culture medium. The grafts were analyzed morphologically using hematoxylin and eosin staining, immunohistochemistry and transferase dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) labeling. Retinas derived from normal adult porcine eyes were used as controls. Results: After 5 d in vitro (DIV), cultures without GDNF showed dissolving retinal lamination while specimens cultured with GDNF displayed the normal laminated morphology. At 10 DIV, the untreated cultures had been reduced to a degenerated cell mass, while the GDNF-cultured specimens retained thin but distinguishable retinal layers. TUNEL labeling confirmed these results. Immunohistochemical labelings and outer nuclear layer thickness measurements showed an increased preservation of photoreceptors and horizontal cells in the GDNF-treated group. Conclusions: The procedure of culturing retina involves several steps causing severe traumatic effects on the tissue, such as ganglion cell axotomy, interruption of the blood flow as well as separation from the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE). In this paper, we have shown that addition of GDNF in the culture medium attenuates the effect of these steps, resulting in enhanced preservation of several retinal neuronal subtypes. The results may be of importance for research in retinal transplantation where storage time of the donor tissue prior to transplantation is a critical issue.

Who let the dogs out?: detrimental role of Galectin-3 in hypoperfusion-induced retinal degeneration

BackgroundRetinal ischemia results in a progressive degeneration of neurons and a pathological activation of glial cells, resulting in vision loss. In the brain, progressive damage after ischemic insult has been correlated to neuroinflammatory processes involving microglia. Galectin-3 has been shown to mediate microglial responses to ischemic injury in the brain. Therefore, we wanted to explore the contribution of Galectin-3 (Gal-3) to hypoperfusion-induced retinal degeneration in mice.MethodsGal-3 knockout (Gal-3 KO) and wildtype (WT) C57BL/6 mice were subjected to chronic cerebral hypoperfusion by bilateral narrowing of the common carotid arteries using metal coils resulting in a 30% reduction of blood flow. Sham operated mice served as controls. After 17 weeks, the mice were sacrificed and the eyes were analyzed for retinal architecture, neuronal cell survival, and glial reactivity using morphological staining and immunohistochemistry.ResultsHypoperfusion caused a strong increase in Gal-3 expression and microglial activation in WT mice, coupled with severe degenerative damage to all retinal neuronal subtypes, remodeling of the retinal lamination and Müller cell gliosis. In contrast, hypoperfused Gal-3 KO mice displayed a retained laminar architecture, a significant preservation of photoreceptors and ganglion cell neurons, and an attenuation of microglial and Müller cell activation.ConclusionModerate cerebral blood flow reduction in the mouse results in severe retinal degenerative damage. In mice lacking Gal-3 expression, pathological changes are significantly attenuated. Gal-3 is thereby a potential target for treatment and prevention of hypoperfusion-induced retinal degeneration and a strong candidate for further research as a factor behind retinal degenerative disease.

Autophagy and ER-stress contribute to photoreceptor degeneration in cultured adult porcine retina

The aim of this study was to investigate rod and cone photoreceptor degeneration in organotypic cultures of adult porcine retina. Our hypothesis was that the photoreceptors accumulate opsins, which, together with exposure to cyclic dim light illumination, induce autophagy and endoplasmic reticulum stress (ER-stress) to overcome damaging protein overload. For this purpose, retinas were cultured for 48 h and 72 h during which they were illuminated with dim light for 8h/day; specimens were analyzed by means of immunohistochemistry, Western blot, real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and transmission electron microscopy. ER-stress and photoreceptor degeneration was observed in conventionally cultured retinas. The additional stress in the form of dim light illumination for 8h/day resulted in increased levels of the ER-stress markers GRP78/BiP and CHOP, as well as increased level of active caspase-12. Increased autophagic processes in cone and rod photoreceptors were detected by LC3B-II increases and occurrence of autophagosomes at the ultrastructural level. Illumination also resulted in altered protein expression for autophagy inducers such as p62 and Beclin-1. Moreover, there was a decrease in phosphorylated mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), which further indicate an increase of autophagy. Rod and cone photoreceptors in retinas from a diurnal animal that were exposed to dim light illumination in vitro displayed autophagy and ER-stress processes. As no alteration of rhodopsin mRNA was observed, autophagy and ER-stress are suggested to decrease rhodopsin protein at the posttranscriptional level.

First Responders: Dynamics of Pre-Gliotic Müller Cell Responses in The Isolated Adult Rat Retina

Abstract Purpose: To explore the early reactions of the retinal Müller glia in response to retinal insult prior to gliotic remodeling and the sustained upregulation of intermediate filament glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), which has traditionally been considered the most sensitive early indicator of reactive gliosis. Methods: To study pre-gliotic events, we used a model of adult rat retinal explants and related the dynamic expression of GFAP as well as apoptosis, to four key regulators of retinal homeostasis (glutamine synthetase (GS), cellular retinaldehyde binding protein (CRALBP), basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), carbonic anhydrase II (CAII)) using immunohistochemistry. Results: We found that a sustained GFAP upregulation couple with gliotic remodeling occurred comparatively late and that this phenomenon was preceded by an initial upregulation followed by depletion of GS, CRALBP, bFGF and CAII in retinal Müller cells. The initial increase of the regulatory proteins, seen after 1–12 h, preceded a first phase of moderate apoptosis, and their depletion after 48 h was followed by massive apoptosis and widespread GFAP upregulation in the Müller cells at 5 days. Conclusion: We conclude that, in the explant model, changes in the expression of the four homeostatic regulatory proteins as well as apoptotic cell death precedes sustained GFAP upregulation and reactive gliosis. Müller cell reactivity has been linked to several retinal conditions, and the herein provided novel information on the dynamics of pre-gliotic events in the lesioned retina may help us understand important pathological mechanisms crucial for future therapeutic intervention.

Scaffolding the retina: The interstitial extracellular matrix during rat retinal development.

To examine the expression of interstitial extracellular matrix components and their role during retinal development.

Specific inhibition of TRPV4 enhances retinal ganglion cell survival in adult porcine retinal explants

ABSTRACT Signaling through the polymodal cation channel Transient Receptor Potential Vanilloid 4 (TRPV4) has been implicated in retinal neuronal degeneration. To further outline the involvement of this channel in this process, we here explore modulation of Transient Receptor Potential Vanilloid 4 (TRPV4) activity on neuronal health and glial activation in an in vitro model of retinal degeneration. For this purpose, adult porcine retinal explants were cultured using a previously established standard protocol for up to 5 days with specific TRPV4 agonist GSK1016790A (GSK), or specific antagonist RN‐1734, or culture medium only. Glial and neuronal cell health were evaluated by a battery of immunohistochemical markers, as well as morphological staining. Specific inhibition of TRPV4 by RN‐1734 significantly enhanced ganglion cell survival, improved the maintenance of the retinal laminar architecture, reduced apoptotic cell death and attenuated the gliotic response as well as preserved the expression of TRPV4 in the plexiform layers and ganglion cells. In contrast, culture controls, as well as specimens treated with GSK, displayed rapid remodeling and neurodegeneration as well as a downregulation of TRPV4 and the Müller cell homeostatic mediator glutamine synthetase. Our results indicate that TRPV4 signaling is an important contributor to the retinal degeneration in this model, affecting neuronal cell health and glial homeostasis. The finding that pharmacological inhibition of the receptor significantly attenuates neuronal degeneration and gliosis in vitro, suggests that TRPV4 signaling may be an interesting pharmaceutical target to explore for treatment of retinal degenerative disease. HighlightsTRPV4 inhibition increases ganglion cell survival in an adult porcine model of retinal degeneration.TRPV4 inhibition results in attenuated gliosis and maintained tissue homeostasis.TRPV4 activation results in further degenerative damage to retinal neurons.

Exogenous Glutamate Modulates Porcine Retinal Development in vitro.

Embryogenesis of the retina is a complex event orchestrated by a multitude of physical and biochemical signals. To study the impact of intrinsic developmental cues, the retinal tissue can be isolated in culture which also enables modulation of normal development for other purposes, i.e. transplantation of specific neuronal cell types. In the present experiment, cell type development of immature porcine retinal tissue kept in culture was explored using specific immunohistochemical markers. Retinal explants were either kept under standard culture conditions or supplemented with glutamate and their morphology was compared with in vivo controls of corresponding age. After 15 days in vitro (DIV), E45 retinal explants displayed several signs of atypical development when compared with E60 in vivo controls. First, an accelerated photoreceptor differentiation was evident, seen in sections labeled with antibodies directed against recoverin, rhodopsin and synaptophysin. Second, apoptotic cells in the inner retina were more prevalent in the cultured retinas (TUNEL). Rod photoreceptor differentiation as well as inner retinal apoptosis was even more pronounced in glutamate-supplemented specimens in which they occurred already at 8 DIV. Müller cell, vimentin and GFAP expression was not affected in any of the cultured retinas. These results suggest that normal retinal embryogenesis is more dependent on tissue extrinsic factors than what has been deduced from previous small animal experiments. Glutamate, which has been identified as an important regulator of cell cycle exit, may also be important for photoreceptor differentiation and induction of developmental apoptosis. Insights into retinal cell type differentiation under in vitro conditions is of interest from a biological standpoint, and the possibility of modulation of this process is valuable for research directed towards cell replacement in retinal degenerative disease.

Seeing through the interface : Poly(ε-Caprolactone) surface modification of poly(glycerol-co-sebacic acid) membranes in adult porcine retinal explants

The purpose of this study was to investigate the adhesion properties and tissue reactions in an in vitro model of nanofabricated membranes emulating the vitreous cortex. Electrospinning was performed for either 5, 10 or 15 min to create various thicknesses of poly(ε‐caprolactone) (PCL) fibre mats on a poly(glycerol‐co‐sebacic acid) (PGS) surface. These were fused with adult porcine retinal explants, with the fibre side facing the inner retina, and cultured for 5 days. Adherence was assessed by macroscopic inspection, and morphological and immunohistochemical analysis was performed using haematoxylin and eosin (H&E) and markers for photoreceptors and Müller glia (recoverin, NeuN, vimentin and GFAP). TUNEL labelling was performed to assess apoptosis. Five minute specimens displayed poor adherence with an overall structure, apoptosis and photoreceptor and ganglion cell morphology comparable to that of the culture controls, whereas 10 min specimens showed improved neuronal survival; 15 min composite explants adhered only at focal points, were thin and showed extensive degenerative damage. The physical composition of nanofibre meshes is important for adhesion to the inner retina and has a significant impact on neuronal and glial survival in vitro. The results bearing on research involving retinal transplantation are discussed. Copyright