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Regenerated synapses persist in the superior colliculus after the regrowth of retinal ganglion cell axons

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Journal of Neurocytology

Summary

Synapse formation by retinal ganglion cell axons was sought in the superior colliculus of four adult rats 16–18 months after the optic nerve was transected and replaced by a peripheral nerve graft that guided regenerating RGC axons from the eye to the superior colliculus. The terminals of retinal ganglion cell axons were labelled by intravitreal injections of tritiated amino acids and studied by light and electron microscopic autoradiography. We found that (i) retinal ganglion cell axons had extended from the tips of the peripheral nerve grafts into the superior colliculus for approximately 350 μ,m; (ii) within the superior colliculus, some regenerated retinal ganglion cell axons became ensheathed by CNS myelin; (iii) retinal ganglion cell terminals formed asymmetric synapses with dendrites of neurons in the superficial layers of the superior colliculus, mainly the stratum griseum superficialis.

Regenerated (n=418) and normal retinal ganglion cell terminals (n=1775) in the superior colliculus were compared in terms of their size (area, perimeter, and maximum diameter), contacts per terminal, contacts per 10 μm terminal perimeter, and post-synaptic structure contacted (dendritic spine, shaft, or soma). No statistically significant differences in the ultrastructural characteristics of the pre-synaptic profiles were apparent between the two groups. The post-synaptic structures contacted by axon terminals were similar in regenerated and control animals, although there were quantitative differences in the distributions of these contacts among dendritic spines and shafts.

These results suggest that the regeneration of retinal ganglion cell axons in adult rats can lead to the formation of ultrastructurally normal synapses in the appropriate layers of the superior colliculus. The re-formed connections appear to persist for the life-span of these animals.

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Author notes

  1. M. Vidal-Sanz

    Present address: Institute Cajal, Avenida Doctor Arce 37, 28002, Madrid, Spain

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Research in Neurosdence, McGill University, Canada

    M. Vidal-Sanz, G. M. Bray & A. J. Aguayo

  2. Montreal General Hospital Research Institute, 1650 Cedar Avenue, H3G 1A4, Montréal, Québec, Canada

    M. Vidal-Sanz, G. M. Bray & A. J. Aguayo

Authors
  1. M. Vidal-Sanz
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  2. G. M. Bray
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  3. A. J. Aguayo
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Additional information

A short account of this work was presented inSociety for Neurosdence Abstracts 14, 654 (1988).

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Vidal-Sanz, M., Bray, G.M. & Aguayo, A.J. Regenerated synapses persist in the superior colliculus after the regrowth of retinal ganglion cell axons. J Neurocytol 20, 940–952 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01190471

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01190471

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