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Updated: Apr 21, 2026
Author Spotlight: Understanding the Ultrastructural Basis of Retinal Synaptic Connectivity and Neurotransmitter Localization in Mice
Published on: July 12, 2024
Developmentally dynamic colocalization patterns of DSCAM with adhesion and synaptic proteins in the mouse retina
Gabriel Belem de Andrade1, Landon Kunzelman2, Morgan M Merrill3
1University of Idaho, Department of Biological Sciences, Moscow, ID ; CAPES Foundation, Ministry of Education of Brazil, Brasília-DF, Brazil.
Purpose:
The Down syndrome cell adhesion molecule (Dscam) gene is required for normal dendrite arborization and lamination in the mouse retina. In this study, we characterized the developmental localization of the DSCAM protein to better understand the postnatal stages of retinal development during which laminar disorganization occur in the absence of the protein.
Methods:
Immunohistochemistry and colocalization analysis software were used to assay the localization of the DSCAM protein during development of the retina.
Results:
We found that DSCAM was initially localized diffusely throughout mouse retinal neurites but then adopted a punctate distribution. DSCAM colocalized with catenins in the adult retina but was not detected at the active zone of chemical synapses, electrical synapses, and tight junctions. Further analysis identified a wave of colocalization between DSCAM and numerous synaptic and junction proteins coinciding with synaptogenesis between bipolar and retinal ganglion cells.
Conclusions:
Research presented in this study expands our understanding of DSCAM function by characterizing its location during the development of the retina and identifies temporally regulated localization patterns as an important consideration in understanding the function of adhesion molecules in neural development.
