| First Author | Al-Khindi T | Year | 2022 |
| Journal | Curr Biol | Volume | 32 |
| Issue | 19 | Pages | 4286-4298.e5 |
| PubMed ID | 35998637 | Mgi Jnum | J:349855 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:7366730 | Doi | 10.1016/j.cub.2022.07.064 |
| Citation | Al-Khindi T, et al. (2022) The transcription factor Tbx5 regulates direction-selective retinal ganglion cell development and image stabilization. Curr Biol 32(19):4286-4298.e5 |
| abstractText | The diversity of visual input processed by the mammalian visual system requires the generation of many distinct retinal ganglion cell (RGC) types, each tuned to a particular feature. The molecular code needed to generate this cell-type diversity is poorly understood. Here, we focus on the molecules needed to specify one type of retinal cell: the upward-preferring ON direction-selective ganglion cell (up-oDSGC) of the mouse visual system. Single-cell transcriptomic profiling of up- and down-oDSGCs shows that the transcription factor Tbx5 is selectively expressed in up-oDSGCs. The loss of Tbx5 in up-oDSGCs results in a selective defect in the formation of up-oDSGCs and a corresponding inability to detect vertical motion. A downstream effector of Tbx5, Sfrp1, is also critical for vertical motion detection but not up-oDSGC formation. These results advance our understanding of the molecular mechanisms that specify a rare retinal cell type and show how disrupting this specification leads to a corresponding defect in neural circuitry and behavior. |
