| First Author | Gallagher SK | Year | 2010 |
| Journal | J Comp Neurol | Volume | 518 |
| Issue | 15 | Pages | 3130-48 |
| PubMed ID | 20533364 | Mgi Jnum | J:261700 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:6158009 | Doi | 10.1002/cne.22387 |
| Citation | Gallagher SK, et al. (2010) beta-Endorphin expression in the mouse retina. J Comp Neurol 518(15):3130-48 |
| abstractText | Evidence showing expression of endogenous opioids in the mammalian retina is sparse. In the present study we examined a transgenic mouse line expressing an obligate dimerized form of Discosoma red fluorescent protein (DsRed) under the control of the pro-opiomelanocortin promoter and distal upstream regulatory elements to assess whether pro-opiomelanocortin peptide (POMC), and its opioid cleavage product, beta-endorphin, are expressed in the mouse retina. Using double label immunohistochemistry we found that DsRed fluorescence was restricted to a subset of GAD-67-positive cholinergic amacrine cells of both orthotopic and displaced subtypes. About 50% of cholinergic amacrine cells colocalized DsRed and a large fraction of DsRed-expressing amacrine cells was positive for beta-endorphin immunostaining, whereas beta-endorphin-immunoreactive neurons were absent in retinas of POMC null mice. Our findings contribute to a growing body of evidence demonstrating that opioid peptides are an integral component of vertebrate retinas, including those of mammals. |
