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Updated: Apr 16, 2026

Preparation of Developing and Adult Drosophila Brains and Retinae for Live Imaging
Published on: March 15, 2010
Mef2d is essential for the maturation and integrity of retinal photoreceptor and bipolar cells
Yoshihiro Omori1, Tamiki Kitamura, Satoyo Yoshida
1Laboratory for Molecular and Developmental Biology, Institute for Protein Research, Osaka University, 3-2 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka, 565-0871, Japan; JST, CREST, 3-2 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka, 565-0871, Japan.
Abstract:
Mef2 transcription factors play a crucial role in cardiac and skeletal muscle differentiation. We found that Mef2d is highly expressed in the mouse retina and its loss causes photoreceptor degeneration similar to that observed in human retinitis pigmentosa patients. Electroretinograms (ERGs) were severely impaired in Mef2d-/- mice. Immunohistochemistry showed that photoreceptor and bipolar cell synapse protein levels severely decreased in the Mef2d-/- retina. Expression profiling by microarray analysis showed that Mef2d is required for the expression of various genes in photoreceptor and bipolar cells, including cone arrestin, Guca1b, Pde6h and Cacna1s, which encode outer segment and synapse proteins. We also observed that Mef2d synergistically activates the cone arrestin (Arr3) promoter with Crx, suggesting that functional cooperation between Mef2d and Crx is important for photoreceptor cell gene regulation. Taken together, our results show that Mef2d is essential for photoreceptor and bipolar cell gene expression, either independently or cooperatively with Crx.
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