Abstract
Purpose
To investigate the membrane physiology of Müller glial cells from retinae of DBA/2J mice (which develop ocular hypertension) and of C57BL/6 control mice of different ages.
Methods
Retinae were obtained at the ages of 3, 6, and 12 months from DBA/2J mice and from C57BL/6 controls. Immunohistochemistry was performed using antibodies against glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP). Whole-cell membrane currents, membrane potentials and capacitances were recorded from freshly isolated Müller cells.
Results
Strong immunostaining for GFAP was found in Müller cells of 12-month-old DBA/2J mice, whereas only astrocytes were immunopositive in C57BL/6 retinae. No significant alterations of membrane currents or potentials of Müller cells from DBA/2J mice as compared to controls were observed at any age; however, the membrane capacitance was increased in Müller cells from DBA/2J mice at the age of 6 months.
Conclusions
Although Müller cells of DBA/2J mice display some symptoms of reactive gliosis, the lack of significant alterations of the membrane physiology confirm previous data demonstrating that these cells undergo a nonproliferative gliosis.
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Acknowledgements
This work was supported by grants from the Interdisziplinäres Zentrum für Klinische Forschung (IZKF) at the University of Leipzig Faculty of Medicine (C5), the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (GRK 1097/1, RE 849/10-2, RE 849/12-1), and integrated project EVI-GENORET (LSHG-CT-2005-512036). The authors thank Sandra Bernhard-Kurz for excellent technical assistance.
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Bolz, S., Schuettauf, F., Fries, J.E. et al. K+ currents fail to change in reactive retinal glial cells in a mouse model of glaucoma. Graefes Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol 246, 1249–1254 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00417-008-0872-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00417-008-0872-x