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Updated: Aug 12, 2026

Immunohistochemical and Calcium Imaging Methods in Wholemount Rat Retina
Published on: October 13, 2014
HCN channels are expressed differentially in retinal bipolar cells and concentrated at synaptic terminals
Frank Müller1, Alexander Scholten, Elena Ivanova
1Institut für Biologische Informationsverarbeitung, Forschungszentrum Jülich, D-52425 Jülich, Germany. f.mueller@fz-juelich.de
Abstract:
Hyperpolarization-activated and cyclic nucleotide-gated (HCN) channels codetermine the integrative behaviour of neurons and shape their response to synaptic stimulation. We used immunohistochemistry and patch-clamp recording to study the composition and distribution of HCN channels in the rat retina. All four HCN channel isoforms (HCN1-4) are expressed differentially in the retina. In particular, different classes of bipolar cells have a different inventory of HCN channels. We found no evidence for the formation of heterooligomeric HCN channels. HCN channels are densely clustered at synaptic terminals of bipolar cells and photoreceptors. This suggests that HCN channels are involved in the control of transmitter release.
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