Retrograde labeling and dissociation of mouse retinal ganglion cells

Mouse retinal ganglion cells were labeled by retrograde axonal transport of the fluorescent dyes, DAPI and Primulin. The labeled retinae were dispersed by papain treatment and mechanical dissociation. Among the cells in the suspension, the ganglion cells could be unequivocally identified by their intense DAPI/Primulin fluorescence. These results establish that it is possible to label specific neurons in the central nervous system by retrograde transport of fluorescent dyes and to identify the labeled cells after proteolytic dissociation.