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First published online 23 June 2004
doi: 10.1242/dev.01212

Development 131, 3559-3570 (2004)
Published by The Company of Biologists 2004
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ERK signaling is required for eye-specific retino-geniculate segregation

Sibel Naska1,*,{dagger}, Maria Cristina Cenni2, Elisabetta Menna2 and Lamberto Maffei1,2

1 Scuola Normale Superiore, piazza dei Cavalieri 7, 56100 Pisa, Italy
2 Istituto di Neuroscienze del CNR, via G. Moruzzi 1, 56100 Pisa, Italy

{dagger} Author for correspondence (e-mail: sibel.naska{at}sickkids.ca)

Accepted 8 April 2004

In the mammalian visual system, retinal ganglion cell (RGC) projections from each eye, initially intermixed within the dorsal-lateral geniculate nucleus (dLGN), become segregated during the early stages of development, occupying distinct eye-specific layers. Electrical activity has been suggested to play a role in this process; however, the cellular mechanisms underlying eye-specific segregation are not yet defined. It is known that electrical activity is among the strongest activators of the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) pathway. Moreover, the ERK pathway is involved in the plasticity of neural connections during development. We examine the role of ERK in the segregation of retinal afferents into eye-specific layers in the dLGN. The activation of this signaling cascade was selectively blocked along the retino-thalamic circuitry by specific inhibitors, and the distribution of RGC fibers in the dLGN was studied. Our results demonstrate that the blockade of ERK signaling prevents eye-specific segregation in the dLGN, providing evidence that ERK pathway is required for the proper development of retino-geniculate connections. Of particular interest is the finding that ERK mediates this process both at the retinal and geniculate level.

Key words: Visual system development, Retinal ganglion cell, Retino-geniculate segregation, ERK pathway




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J. Ziburkus and W. Guido
Loss of Binocular Responses and Reduced Retinal Convergence During the Period of Retinogeniculate Axon Segregation
J Neurophysiol, November 1, 2006; 96(5): 2775 - 2784.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


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