Abstract
Chromatin organization and the management of transcription and splicing are fundamental to the correct functioning of every cell but, in particular, for highly active cells such as photoreceptors, the sensory neurons of the retina. Rod photoreceptor cells of nocturnal animals have recently been shown to have an inverted chromatin architecture compared with rod photoreceptor cells of diurnal animals. The heterochromatin is concentrated in the center of the nucleus, whereas the genetically active euchromatin is positioned close to the nuclear membrane. This unique chromatin architecture suggests that the transcription and splicing machinery is also subject to specific adaptations in these cells. Recently, we described the protein Simiate, which is enriched in nuclear speckles and seems to be involved in transcription and splicing processes. Here, we examine the distribution of Simiate and nuclear speckles in neurons of mouse retinae. In retinal neurons of the inner nuclear and ganglion cell layer, Simiate is concentrated in a clustered pattern in the nuclear interior, whereas in rod and cone photoreceptor cells, Simiate is present at the nuclear periphery. Further staining with markers for the transcription and splicing machinery has confirmed the localization of nuclear speckle components at the periphery. Comparing the distribution of nuclear speckles in retinae of the nocturnal mouse with the diurnal degu, we found no differences in the arrangement of the transcription and splicing machinery in their photoreceptor cells, thus suggesting that the organization of these machineries is not related to the animal’s lifestyle but rather represents a general characteristic of photoreceptor organization and function.
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- GCL:
-
Ganglion cell layer
- hnRNPs:
-
Heterogeneous nuclear RNPs
- INL:
-
Inner nuclear layer
- IPL:
-
Inner plexiform layer
- IS:
-
Inner segments
- ONL:
-
Outer nuclear layer
- OPL:
-
Outer plexiform layer
- OS:
-
Outer segments
- RNAP2:
-
RNA Polymerase 2
- SC35:
-
Spliceosomal component 35
- snRNPs:
-
Small nuclear ribonucleoprotein particles
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Acknowledgments
The authors thank Ingrid Zenger, Nadja Schröder and Beata Schmidt for excellent technical assistance, Dr. Anna Katharina Braun for providing the degus and Dr. Anna Sendelbeck for preparing the sections of degu retina.
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This work was supported in part by funding from the Jerome Lejeune Foundation (to R.D.), the Interdisziplinäres Zentrum für Klinische Forschung of the University Erlangen-Nuremberg (to R.D.) and the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (to R.D. and R.E.).
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Figure S1
Control experiments for pre- and post-embedding in the mouse outer nuclear layer. Representative electron micrographs illustrating the absence of immunolabeling in the outer nuclear layer of pre- and post-embedded samples of the mouse retina by using only secondary antibodies, as indicated (R rod nuclei, C cone nuclei). Bars 1 μm. (GIF 367 kb)
Figure S2
Distribution of RNAP2 and hnRNPs in photoreceptor nuclei in relation to the nuclear membrane. Signal intensities for RNAP2 and hnRNPs measured at various distances from the nuclear membrane. Mean values were calculated from 7 to 10 nuclei of rod photoreceptors or cells located in the INL, respectively and from 4 to 5 cones. See also Fig. 7. (GIF 64 kb)
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Derlig, K., Gießl, A., Brandstätter, J.H. et al. Special characteristics of the transcription and splicing machinery in photoreceptor cells of the mammalian retina. Cell Tissue Res 362, 281–294 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00441-015-2204-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00441-015-2204-x