 |
The Journal of Neuroscience, July 23, 2003, 23(16):6413-6422
Previous Article | Next Article 
Gap Junctions Mediate Bystander Cell Death in Developing Retina
Karen Cusato,1
Alejandra Bosco,1
Renato Rozental,1
Cinthya A. Guimarães,2
Benjamin E. Reese,3
Rafael Linden,2 * and
David C. Spray1 *
1Department of Neuroscience, Albert Einstein
College of Medicine, Bronx, New York 10461, 2Institute
of Biophysics, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, 21949-900, Rio de
Janeiro, Brazil, and 3Neuroscience Research Institute
and Department of Psychology, University of California at Santa Barbara, Santa
Barbara, California 93106
During development of the retina, programmed cell death helps to establish
the final size and distribution of various cell classes in distinct layers of
the tissue. Here we show that dying cells in the developing ganglion and inner
nuclear layers are clustered spatially and that gap junction inhibitors
decrease the clustering of dying cells. To confirm the role of gap junctions
in cell death, we induced targeted cell death via intracellular cytochrome
c (Cc) and examined the induced cells and their neighbors
for apoptotic morphology or caspase-3 cleavage. These studies indicate that
bystander killing extends to coupled cells.
Quantitative studies of bystander killing were performed by scrape-loading
retinas with Cc in the presence of rhodamine dextran (RD; to identify
Cc-loaded cells) and by counting pyknotic cells in cryosections.
Although only 1.5% of control scrape-loaded cells (RD alone) showed apoptotic
morphology, 97% of Cc scrape-loaded cells were pyknotic. Moreover,
bystander killing extended to neighboring cells, not labeled with RD, and was
reduced significantly by the gap junction inhibitors octanol and
carbenoxolone. We hypothesize that dying cells in the retina generate a gap
junction-permeant apoptotic signal that mediates bystander killing. This novel
finding of naturally occurring bystander cell death may have important
implications in the histogenesis and pathology of the nervous system.
Key words: retina; cell death; gap junctions; bystander effect; development; inner nuclear layer
Received Dec. 26, 2002;
revised May. 16, 2003;
accepted May. 16, 2003.
This article has been cited by other articles:

|
 |

|
 |
 
J. E. Cook and D. L. Becker
Gap-Junction Proteins in Retinal Development: New Roles for the "Nexus"
Physiology,
August 1, 2009;
24(4):
219 - 230.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
 |
|

|
 |

|
 |
 
V. V. Yevseyenkov, S. Das, D. Lin, L. Willard, H. Davidson, A. Sitaramayya, F. J. Giblin, L. Dang, and D. J. Takemoto
Loss of Protein Kinase C{gamma} in Knockout Mice and Increased Retinal Sensitivity to Hyperbaric Oxygen
Arch Ophthalmol,
April 1, 2009;
127(4):
500 - 506.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
 |
|

|
 |

|
 |
 
J. H.-C. Lin, N. Lou, N. Kang, T. Takano, F. Hu, X. Han, Q. Xu, D. Lovatt, A. Torres, K. Willecke, et al.
A Central Role of Connexin 43 in Hypoxic Preconditioning
J. Neurosci.,
January 16, 2008;
28(3):
681 - 695.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
 |
|

|
 |

|
 |
 
M. Ruiz-Meana, A. Rodriguez-Sinovas, A. Cabestrero, K. Boengler, G. Heusch, and D. Garcia-Dorado
Mitochondrial connexin43 as a new player in the pathophysiology of myocardial ischaemia-reperfusion injury
Cardiovasc Res,
January 15, 2008;
77(2):
325 - 333.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
 |
|

|
 |

|
 |
 
A. L. Wit and H. S. Duffy
Drug development for treatment of cardiac arrhythmias: targeting the gap junctions
Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol,
January 1, 2008;
294(1):
H16 - H18.
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
 |
|

|
 |

|
 |
 
J. C. de Rivero Vaccari, R. A. Corriveau, and A. B. Belousov
Gap Junctions Are Required for NMDA Receptor Dependent Cell Death in Developing Neurons
J Neurophysiol,
November 1, 2007;
98(5):
2878 - 2886.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
 |
|

|
 |

|
 |
 
N. Komori, N. Takemori, H. K. Kim, A. Singh, S.-H. Hwang, R. D. Foreman, K. Chung, J. M. Chung, and H. Matsumoto
Proteomics study of neuropathic and nonneuropathic dorsal root ganglia: altered protein regulation following segmental spinal nerve ligation injury
Physiol Genomics,
April 24, 2007;
29(2):
215 - 230.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
 |
|

|
 |

|
 |
 
D. Bai, C. del Corsso, M. Srinivas, and D. C. Spray
Block of Specific Gap Junction Channel Subtypes by 2-Aminoethoxydiphenyl Borate (2-APB)
J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther.,
December 1, 2006;
319(3):
1452 - 1458.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
 |
|

|
 |

|
 |
 
D. Lin, M. Barnett, S. Lobell, D. Madgwick, D. Shanks, L. Willard, G. A. Zampighi, and D. J. Takemoto
PKC{gamma} knockout mouse lenses are more susceptible to oxidative stress damage
J. Exp. Biol.,
November 1, 2006;
209(21):
4371 - 4378.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
 |
|

|
 |

|
 |
 
M. H. de Pina-Benabou, V. Szostak, A. Kyrozis, D. Rempe, D. Uziel, M. Urban-Maldonado, S. Benabou, D. C. Spray, H. J. Federoff, P. K. Stanton, et al.
Blockade of Gap Junctions In Vivo Provides Neuroprotection After Perinatal Global Ischemia
Stroke,
October 1, 2005;
36(10):
2232 - 2237.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
 |
|

|
 |

|
 |
 
R. Narasimhaiah, A. Tuchman, S. L. Lin, and J. R. Naegele
Oxidative Damage and Defective DNA Repair is Linked to Apoptosis of Migrating Neurons and Progenitors During Cerebral Cortex Development in Ku70-Deficient Mice
Cereb Cortex,
June 1, 2005;
15(6):
696 - 707.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
 |
|

|
 |

|
 |
 
W. Li, E. L. Hertzberg, and D. C. Spray
Regulation of Connexin43-Protein Binding in Astrocytes in Response to Chemical Ischemia/Hypoxia
J. Biol. Chem.,
March 4, 2005;
280(9):
7941 - 7948.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
 |
|

|
 |

|
 |
 
S. J. Cruikshank, M. Hopperstad, M. Younger, B. W. Connors, D. C. Spray, and M. Srinivas
Potent block of Cx36 and Cx50 gap junction channels by mefloquine
PNAS,
August 17, 2004;
101(33):
12364 - 12369.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
 |
|

|
 |

|
 |
 
D. Garcia-Dorado, A. Rodriguez-Sinovas, and M. Ruiz-Meana
Gap junction-mediated spread of cell injury and death during myocardial ischemia-reperfusion
Cardiovasc Res,
February 15, 2004;
61(3):
386 - 401.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
 |
|

|
 |

|
 |
 
K. Cusato, J. Zakevicius, and H. Ripps
An Experimental Approach to the Study of Gap-Junction-Mediated Cell Death
Biol. Bull.,
October 1, 2003;
205(2):
197 - 199.
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
 |
|
|

|