Ablation of horizontal cells and functional analyses of neurotransmitter receptors in horizontal cells of the retina

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Klaus Willecke
• Subject Area: Molecular Biology and Physiology of Neurons and Glial Cells
• Term: from 2007 to 2010
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 49435215

Horizontal cells are assumed to be responsible for the antagonistic surround observed in receptive fields of bipolar cells. The extent of this effect and many details of the functional molecular biology of horizontal cells are not yet known. Therefore, we want to generate a transgenic mouse line expressing the primate diphtheria toxin receptor (DTR) fused to eGFP or alternatively the Cre recombinase under control of the connexin57 promoter. The connexin57 promoter is predominantly active in mouse horizontal cells and thus these transgenic mice will be suitable for the specific expression of DTR-eGFP as well as Cre recombinase in horizontal cells. The transgenic will be used to ablate horizontal cells at different time points during and after development by application of diphtheria toxin, in order to analyse horizontal cell function. Furthermore, we plan to delete several receptor subtypes like glutamate-, GABA- and dopamine receptors, specifically in horizontal cells. The analyses of these mutant mice are expected to provide - for the first time - information on the function of neurotransmitter receptors in a single type of interneurons and on the function of horizontal cells in the retinal network during perception of light.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants