Cell differentiation in the retina of the mouse

TLDR

During embryogenesis, differentiation of 3–6 specialized retinal cell types begins simultaneously in the ventricular cell population. The authors used 3H‑thymidine autoradiography in postnatal mice, injecting animals from birth to day 11, and six weeks later examined labeled nuclei in central and peripheral retinal zones to determine the timing of final mitosis before differentiation. Cell division stops 5–6 days after birth in the retinal center and 11 days in the periphery, and postnatal cells differentiate into 73 % rods, 20 % bipolar cells, 6 % Müller cells, and 1 % amacrine/ganglion cells.

Abstract

Abstract Cell differentiation in the retina of the mouse during the postnatal period was studied by autoradiography. Animals were injected with 3 H‐thymidine at ages extending from the day of birth through postnatal day 11. Six weeks later the distribution of labeled nuclei in the cells of the mature neural retina was analyzed to determine when these cells completed their final mitosis prior to differentiating. Central and peripheral zones were analyzed separately. Cell division ceases by 5–6 days in the center of the retina and by 11 days in the periphery. Among cells produced postnatally, 73% differentiate as rods, 20% as bipolar cells, 6% as Müller cells, and 1% as amacrine and ganglion cells. At all stages of embryogenesis, the differentiation of at least three and as many as six distinct types of specialized cells is initiated simultaneously within the ventricular cell population.