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Featured ArticleResearch Articles, Systems/Circuits

Photoreceptive Ganglion Cells Drive Circuits for Local Inhibition in the Mouse Retina

Joseph Pottackal, Hannah L. Walsh, Pouyan Rahmani, Kathy Zhang, Nicholas J. Justice and Jonathan B. Demb
Journal of Neuroscience 17 February 2021, 41 (7) 1489-1504; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0674-20.2020
Joseph Pottackal
1Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program
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Hannah L. Walsh
2Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science
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Pouyan Rahmani
2Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science
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Kathy Zhang
1Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program
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Nicholas J. Justice
5Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, Texas 77030
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Jonathan B. Demb
1Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program
2Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science
3Department of Cellular and Molecular Physiology
4Department of Neuroscience, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06511
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Abstract

Intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCs) exhibit melanopsin-dependent light responses that persist in the absence of rod and cone photoreceptor-mediated input. In addition to signaling anterogradely to the brain, ipRGCs signal retrogradely to intraretinal circuitry via gap junction-mediated electrical synapses with amacrine cells (ACs). However, the targets and functions of these intraretinal signals remain largely unknown. Here, in mice of both sexes, we identify circuitry that enables M5 ipRGCs to locally inhibit retinal neurons via electrical synapses with a nonspiking GABAergic AC. During pharmacological blockade of rod- and cone-mediated input, whole-cell recordings of corticotropin-releasing hormone-expressing (CRH+) ACs reveal persistent visual responses that require both melanopsin expression and gap junctions. In the developing retina, ipRGC-mediated input to CRH+ ACs is weak or absent before eye opening, indicating a primary role for this input in the mature retina (i.e., in parallel with rod- and cone-mediated input). Among several ipRGC types, only M5 ipRGCs exhibit consistent anatomical and physiological coupling to CRH+ ACs. Optogenetic stimulation of local CRH+ ACs directly drives IPSCs in M4 and M5, but not M1-M3, ipRGCs. CRH+ ACs also inhibit M2 ipRGC-coupled spiking ACs, demonstrating direct interaction between discrete networks of ipRGC-coupled interneurons. Together, these results demonstrate a functional role for electrical synapses in translating ipRGC activity into feedforward and feedback inhibition of local retinal circuits.

SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Melanopsin directly generates light responses in intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCs). Through gap junction-mediated electrical synapses with retinal interneurons, these uniquely photoreceptive RGCs may also influence the activity and output of neuronal circuits within the retina. Here, we identified and studied an electrical synaptic circuit that, in principle, could couple ipRGC activity to the chemical output of an identified retinal interneuron. Specifically, we found that M5 ipRGCs form electrical synapses with corticotropin-releasing hormone-expressing amacrine cells, which locally release GABA to inhibit specific RGC types. Thus, ipRGCs are poised to influence the output of diverse retinal circuits via electrical synapses with interneurons.

  • amacrine cell
  • corticotropin releasing hormone
  • gap junction
  • ipRGC
  • melanopsin
  • retinal ganglion cell

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The Journal of Neuroscience: 41 (7)
Journal of Neuroscience
Vol. 41, Issue 7
17 Feb 2021
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Photoreceptive Ganglion Cells Drive Circuits for Local Inhibition in the Mouse Retina
Joseph Pottackal, Hannah L. Walsh, Pouyan Rahmani, Kathy Zhang, Nicholas J. Justice, Jonathan B. Demb
Journal of Neuroscience 17 February 2021, 41 (7) 1489-1504; DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0674-20.2020

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Photoreceptive Ganglion Cells Drive Circuits for Local Inhibition in the Mouse Retina
Joseph Pottackal, Hannah L. Walsh, Pouyan Rahmani, Kathy Zhang, Nicholas J. Justice, Jonathan B. Demb
Journal of Neuroscience 17 February 2021, 41 (7) 1489-1504; DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0674-20.2020
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Keywords

  • amacrine cell
  • corticotropin releasing hormone
  • gap junction
  • ipRGC
  • melanopsin
  • retinal ganglion cell

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