Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: EC:1.6.99.1 (NADPH-diaphorase)
 3,903 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Nitric oxide may serve as a retrograde messenger to refine or stabilize synapses in the developing nervous system. Whether this action is dependent upon glutamate and the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor is not yet established. We have used the patch-cluster system in the intermediate gray layer (IGL) of the rat superior colliculus (SC), a system receiving both glutamatergic and cholinergic input, to study this question. The normal distribution and development of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) in SC was examined using nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate diaphorase (NADPH-d) histochemistry in Sprague-Dawley rats aged P4 to adulthood. Fibers containing acetylcholine (ACh) were identified using choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) immunocytochemistry. In addition, N omega-nitro-L-arginine, an inhibitor of NOS, was injected intraperitoneally from birth until P10, P14, P18, or P21-22 to determine if NOS inhibition would disrupt the formation of the ACh patches. Control animals were studied from the same age groups. Our results show NADPH-d-labeled cells within the periaqueductal gray and the deep gray layer of SC by P4, the earliest age examined. By P8-P9, cells in the IGL were well labeled by NADPH-d, while few in the superficial layers (SL) were labeled. SL cells were visible by P10 and were intensely labeled by P14. IGL cells transiently expressed NADPH-d in that the number of labeled cells increased from P8 to P35, then decreased in the adult. ChAT-labeled fibers first appeared in the IGL at P10, formed a characteristic two-tier pattern by P14, and established obvious patches by P21. Inhibition of NOS from birth produced no qualitative differences in the distribution or density of either ChAT-labeled fibers or NADPH-d-labeled cells and fibers at any of the ages examined. We therefore conclude that NO does not contribute to the refinement of cholinergic fiber patches in the rat SC, probably because the fiber system is not glutamatergic.
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PMID:Inhibition of nitric oxide synthase fails to disrupt the development of cholinergic fiber patches in the rat superior colliculus. 920 10

Nitric oxide (NO) has been implicated as a retrograde signal in the process of refining axonal pathways during brain development. To determine some of the factors involved in this process, we have used two model pathway systems in the rat and mouse superior colliculus (SC). The first, the patch-cluster system, consists of clusters of neurons in the intermediate gray layer (igl) which transiently express NO during development and which receive input from a cholinergic pathway from the parabrachial brainstem as well as from other pathways containing different transmitters. The second system, the retinocollicular pathway, consists of glutamatergic fibers that project to the superficial gray layer. We have used both nitric oxide synthase inhibition (nw-nitro-L-arginine, NoArg) and single (nNOS) and double (nNOS and eNOS) gene knockout mice to examine the effect that reduction in NOS has upon the development of these two systems. The onset of NOS expression in rat, as revealed by nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate diaphorase (NADPH-d) labeling, occurred in igl cells as early as postnatal day P5, with clusters being well-established by P14. Cholinergic fibers were first visible at P10 and formed obvious patches and tiers by P14. Intraperitoneal injections of NoArg from P1-P22 had no effect upon the development of these cholinergic patches. The pathway also developed normally in both single and double-knockout mice. In contrast, the ipsilateral retinocollicular pathway was altered in the double, but not in the single knockout mouse. This pathway is exuberant during the first week of life, being distributed across much of the mediolateral axis of the rostral SC. By P8-P15, this pathway has retracted to the most mediorostral SC. This refinement was delayed substantially in the double NOS gene knockout mouse. Ipsilateral fibers were found within 3-5 separate medio-lateral patches within the rostral 600 microns of SC at P15, and patches of abnormal size and extent were also seen at P18. We conclude from these results that NO plays a role in pathway development in the rodent SC, but only in glutamatergic pathways and only when both endothelial and neuronal forms of NOS have been deleted. The mechanism of this effect must involve pathway elimination in situations where there is non-correlated electrical activity. It is likely that NO promotes fiber retraction rather than fiber stabilization in these developing nerve fibers.
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PMID:The role of nitric oxide in development of the patch-cluster system and retinocollicular pathways in the rodent superior colliculus. 993 39

NADPH-diaphorase (NADPH-d) histochemistry labels a subpopulation of nitric oxide-synthesizing amacrine cells in the inner nuclear layer of the rat retina. We have studied their morphology and distribution in postnatal and adult rats in whole-mounted retinae. NAPDH-d-positive neurons are detected as early as postnatal day (P)5, especially in the peripheral retina; intense labeling of somata and long lengths of dendrites is obtained between P10 and P18, after which only the somata exhibit NADPH-d activity. The density and number of these cells increase progressively from P7 to P14, with a significantly higher density in the central retina as compared to the periphery. The sociology of these cells was analyzed quantitatively studying the Voronoi domains: a polygon area can be drawn that delineates the territory of the map that is closer to the cell than to any other cell of the map. In addition, we calculated the conformity ratio of Cook, i.e., the mean nearest neighbor distance/standard deviation of all the nearest neighbor distances, in order to reveal whether or not these cells are regularly distributed through the retina. We find that the distribution of the NADPH-d-positive cells tends to be regular throughout the retina: the local coefficient of variation (obtained by comparing the size of each Voronoi polygon area to those of its neighbors) tends to regularity at P14 and remains unaltered through maturity. Therefore, as other cell types, NADPH-d-positive amacrine cells are almost regularly distributed from the time of eye opening and nitric oxide may play a role in the development of retinal circuitry and in the regulation of retinal blood flow.
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PMID:Quantitative spatial analysis of the distribution of NADPH-diaphorase-positive neurons in the developing and mature rat retina. 1581 1

Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is a group of inherited retinal degenerative diseases involving a progressive degeneration of photoreceptor cells. Following the loss of photoreceptors, retinal vascularization tends to decrease, which seems to play a role in the degenerative process of retinal cells. This study reports changes in retinal vascular network architecture in the P23H rat model of RP at different stages of retinal degeneration. Homozygous P23H line-3 rats of ages ranging from 18 days to 16 months were used in this study. Age-matched Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were used as control animals. Vertical sections and wholemount retinas were immunolabeled for type IV collagen or stained using NADPH diaphorase histochemistry, and retinal vascular networks were drawn using a camera lucida. The superficial and deep capillary plexus (DCP) were fully developed at P18 in P23H rat retinas and showed no differences from the control animals. In 4-month-old P23H rat retinas, the superficial and intermediate capillary plexus were similar to those observed in age-matched SD rats, but a reduction in the DCP could be observed in these animals, with a significant decrease in both capillary density and capillary loops. At 16 months, the DCP was completely lost, and only vessels exhibiting an abnormal, tortuous dead-end could be observed. The middle capillary plexus had virtually disappeared at this age. Only perpendicular vessels connecting the superficial and DCP were found. The superficial plexus showed no changes in the vascular surface with age. In RP, photoreceptor loss is accompanied by degenerative changes in the retinal vascular network. The disruption of the capillary plexus, with loss of capillary density and capillary loops, can hamper the normal supply of oxygen and nutrients to retinal cells, thus accelerating retinal degeneration. Therefore, changes in retinal vascularization must be taken into account in the design of therapies targeting retinal degenerative diseases.
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PMID:Retinal Vascular Degeneration in the Transgenic P23H Rat Model of Retinitis Pigmentosa. 3000 65