Development of NADPH-diaphorase cells in the rat's retina

This study has examined the development of cells in the rat retina which contain nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) diaphorase. NADPH-diaphorase cells were first detected at postnatal day (P) 3, in somata located in the inner part of the cytoblast layer (CBL). At this age, NADPH-diaphorase reactivity was also seen in weakly labelled fibers in the presumptive outer plexiform layer (OPL). By P5, the somata of most labelled cells were in the inner part of the inner nuclear layer (INL), and by P11, their processes had spread extensively within the inner plexiform layer (IPL). By P25, there was a striking change in the pattern of NADPH-diaphorase reactivity. First, cells had lost reactivity from their large and extensive dendrites and second, there was a distinct reduction in the diameters of labelled somata. Thus, NADPH-diaphorase reactivity was most prominent during the period of synaptogenesis in the IPL. Labelled cells at P3 numbered 120 and were largely found at the superior margin of the retina. By P11, their total number had increased to the adult value of about 3400 and their density was highest in peripheral retina. With further development, the differential expansion of the retina appeared to lower the peripheral densities, resulting in an approximately uniform distribution by adulthood.