Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 19, 2026

Immunohistochemical and Calcium Imaging Methods in Wholemount Rat Retina
Published on: October 13, 2014
GABAA and GABAC receptors on mammalian rod bipolar cells
E L Fletcher1, P Koulen, H Wässle
1Max-Planck-Institut für Hirnforschung, Frankfurt, Germany.
Abstract:
Rod bipolar (RB) cells of mammalian retinae receive synapses from different gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABAergic) amacrine cells in the inner plexiform layer (IPL). We addressed the question whether RB cells of the rabbit and of the rat retina express different types of GABA receptors at these synapses. RB cells were immunolabeled in vertical sections of rat retinae with an antibody against protein kinase C (PKC). The sections were double-labeled for the alpha 1, alpha 2, alpha 3, or gamma 2 subunits of the GABAA receptor. Punctate immunofluorescence, which represents synaptic localization, was found for all four subunits. Many of the alpha 1-, alpha 3-, or gamma 2-immunoreactive puncta coincided with the axon terminals of the PKC-immunolabeled RB cells. Sections and wholemounts of rabbit retinae were also double labeled for PKC and the rho subunits of the GABAC receptor. Rabbit RB cells were decorated by many rho-immunoreactive puncta, which were shown by electron microscopy to represent synaptic localization. Previous work from our laboratory has shown that the alpha 1, alpha 2, alpha 3, and rho subunits are not found within the same synapse but are expressed at different synaptic sites. Taken together, these results suggest that RB cells of mammalian retinae express at least three different types of GABA receptors at synaptic sites in the IPL: GABAC receptors, GABAA receptors containing the alpha 1 subunit, and GABAA receptors containing the alpha 3 subunit.
More Related Videos
10:30Recording Light-evoked Postsynaptic Responses in Neurons in Dark-adapted, Mouse Retinal Slice Preparations Using Patch Clamp Techniques
Published on: February 11, 2015
07:53Split Retina as an Improved Flatmount Preparation for Studying Inner Nuclear Layer Neurons in Vertebrate Retina
Published on: January 16, 2024
Related Concept Videos
G-protein Coupled Receptors
The Retina
Activation and Inactivation of G Proteins
G-Protein Gated Ion Channels
Sensory organs,...
Anatomy of the Eyeball
Photoreceptors and Visual Pathways