Bax is not the heterodimerization partner necessary for sustained anti-photoreceptor-cell-death activity of Bcl-2

PURPOSE: Ectopic expression of Bcl-2 in photoreceptors of certain mouse models of retinitis pigmentosa (RP) temporarily slows disease progression. The temporary effect produced by Bcl-2 may result from insufficient levels of functional complexes between Bcl-2 and additional proteins necessary for maintaining the anti-apoptotic activity of Bcl-2. Although the overexpression of Bax generally induces apoptosis, Bax exerts anti-apoptotic properties when complexed with Bcl-2 in certain cell culture systems. These studies were designed to determine whether coexpression of Bcl-2 and Bax would improve the neuroprotective effect provided by Bcl-2 alone in photoreceptors of mice with autosomal dominant RP (adRP). METHODS: Transgenic mice were produced that overexpressed Bax and Bcl-2 specifically in photoreceptor cells, using the murine opsin promoter to drive transgene expression. These mice were crossed with an adRP mouse model to assess the effect of coexpression of Bax and Bcl-2 on retinal degeneration. Morphologic analysis was performed on retinas isolated at various developmental times to monitor disease progression. RESULTS: Ectopic expression of Bax in photoreceptors resulted in extensive rod cell death dependent on the level of Bax transgene expression. Although Bcl-2 was able to inhibit Bax-induced photoreceptor cell death, the coexpression of Bcl-2 and Bax in photoreceptors of mice with adRP did not enhance the protective effect against photoreceptor cell death exerted by Bcl-2 alone. CONCLUSIONS: Coexpression of Bax and Bcl-2, at the levels produced in the transgenic lines, does not extend the temporary neuroprotective effect produced by Bcl-2 in photoreceptors of mice with adRP.     

Transgenic Bcl-2 expressed in photoreceptor cells confers both death-sparing and death-inducing effects.

To examine its potential role within the retina as a modulator of cell death and photoreceptor degeneration, bcl-2 expression was targeted to the photoreceptors of transgenic mice by the human IRBP promoter. Three transgenic families were established, with levels of transgene expression between 0.2 and two-fold relative to that of endogenous bcl-2. The effect of bcl-2 expression on genetically programmed photoreceptor degeneration was evaluated by crossing these transgenic mice with mice that develop a rapid degeneration of rod photoreceptors due to expression of a distinct transgene, SV40 T antigen (Tag). Transgenic Bcl-2 was localized to photoreceptor inner segments and was capable of abrogating the activation of caspase activity and the resulting cell death associated with ectopic expression of Tag. However, Bcl-2 itself ultimately caused photoreceptor cell death and retinal degeneration. Several proteins not expressed normally in Tag or other transgenic retinas undergoing photoreceptor degeneration were induced in the Bcl-2 transgenic retinas. Analysis by mass spectroscopy identified one of these proteins as alphaA-crystallin, a member of a protein family that associates with cellular stress. Since Bcl-2 can promote as well as spare cell death in the same photoreceptor population, its potential utility in ameliorating photoreceptor death in human hereditary blinding disorders is compromised.     

Retinal cAMP levels during the progression of retinal degeneration in rhodopsin P23H and S334ter transgenic rats

PURPOSE: To test whether high levels of cAMP promote apoptosis and shorten the life of retinal rod photoreceptors, the changes in cAMP levels during retinal degeneration were analyzed in two transgenic rat models that express rhodopsin P23H and S334ter mutations. METHODS: Dark- and light-adapted heterozygous P23H (lines 1 and 3; P23H-1 and -3), S334ter line 4 (S334ter-4), and Sprague-Dawley (control) rats were studied at 4 to 8 weeks by cAMP enzyme competitive immunoassay and by cAMP immunocytochemistry. RESULTS: In control animals retinal cAMP content reached a steady state level at 30 days of age. Dark-adapted control retinas had up to 97% higher cAMP content than light-adapted retinas, and photoreceptor cells were the major source of this increase. Dark-adapted photoreceptors in all three lines of transgenic rats at advanced stages of retinal degeneration had cAMP content different from that of the control. In rats that express mutant rhodopsin, the number of photoreceptor cells was progressively reduced, because of retinal degeneration, but dark-adapted cAMP levels did not decline accordingly. P23H transgenic animals of both lines had higher levels of cAMP per photoreceptor cell count than control animals. This elevation was more pronounced as degeneration progressed. S334ter animals showed smaller cAMP elevation than P23H rats at a similar stage of retinal degeneration, but at a point when S334ter rats were undergoing rapid retinal degeneration, whereas in P23H rats retinal degeneration was slowing down. CONCLUSIONS: All three lines of transgenic rats carrying rhodopsin mutations show an increase in dark-adapted photoreceptor cAMP levels. A complex relationship exists between cAMP levels and the rate of cell death in the retina. Although initially higher levels of cAMP may promote cell survival and slow down retinal degeneration, ultimately, elevated cAMP levels may become toxic and may contribute to retinal cell death.     

Increased susceptibility to light damage in an arrestin knockout mouse model of Oguchi disease (stationary night blindness)

PURPOSE: To determine whether constitutive signal flow arising from defective rhodopsin shut-off causes photoreceptor cell death in arrestin knockout mice. METHODS: The retinas of cyclic-light-reared, pigmented arrestin knockout mice and wild-type littermate control mice were examined histologically for photoreceptor cell loss from 100 days to 1 year of age. In separate experiments, to determine whether constant light would accelerate the degeneration in arrestin knockout mice, these animals and wild-type control mice were exposed for 1, 2, or 3 weeks to fluorescent light at an intensity of 115 to 150 fc. The degree of photoreceptor cell loss was quantified histologically by obtaining a mean outer nuclear layer thickness for each animal. RESULTS: In arrestin knockout mice maintained in cyclic light, photoreceptor loss was evident at 100 days of age, and it became progressively more severe, with less than 50% of photoreceptors surviving at 1 year of age. The photoreceptor degeneration appeared to be caused by light, because when these mice were reared in the dark, the retinal structure was indistinguishable from normal. When exposed to constant light, the retinas of wild-type pigmented mice showed no light-induced damage, regardless of exposure duration. By contrast, the retinas of arrestin knockout mice showed rapid degeneration in constant light, with a loss of 30% of photoreceptors after 1 week of exposure and greater than 60% after 3 weeks of exposure. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate that constitutive signal flow due to arrestin knockout leads to photoreceptor degeneration. Excessive light accelerates the cell death process in pigmented arrestin knockout mice. Human patients with naturally occurring mutations that lead to nonfunctional arrestin and rhodopsin kinase have Oguchi disease, a form of stationary night blindness. The present findings suggest that such patients may be at greater risk of the damaging effects of light than those with other forms of retinal degeneration, and they provide an impetus to restrict excessive light exposure as a protective measure in patients with constitutive signal flow in phototransduction.     

Characterization of rhodopsin mis-sorting and constitutive activation in a transgenic rat model of retinitis pigmentosa

PURPOSE: To determine the extent to which rhodopsin mis-sorting and constitutive activation of the phototransduction cascade contribute to retinal degeneration in a transgenic rat model of retinitis pigmentosa. METHODS: Retinas from transgenic rats expressing truncated rhodopsin (Ser334ter) were examined by light and electron microscopic immunocytochemistry at several time points. Retinal degeneration in transgenic rats raised in darkness was evaluated by quantification of outer nuclear layer thickness and by electroretinography. RESULTS: Mutant rhodopsin was found at inappropriately high levels in the plasma membrane and cytoplasm of Ser334ter rat photoreceptors. When the cell death rate was high this mis-sorting was severe, but mis-sorting attenuated greatly at later stages of degeneration, as the cell death rate decreased. The distributions of two other outer segment proteins (the cGMP-gated channel and peripherin) were examined and found to be sorted normally within the photoreceptors of these rats. Raising Ser334ter transgenic rats in darkness resulted in minimal rescue from retinal degeneration. CONCLUSIONS: Because dark rearing Ser334ter rats results in little rescue, it is concluded that constitutive activation of the phototransduction cascade does not contribute significantly to photoreceptor cell death in this rat model. The nature of the rhodopsin sorting defect and the correlation between the severity of mis-sorting and rate of cell death indicate that truncated rhodopsin may cause apoptosis by interfering with normal cellular machinery in the post-Golgi transport pathway or in the plasma membrane.     

New drug therapy for retinal degeneration

Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is an inherited retinal degeneration characterized by nyctalopia, ring scotoma, and bone-spicule pigmentation of the retina. So far, no effective therapy has been found for RP. As a possible molecular etiology of RP, retina-specific gene deficits are most likely involved, but little has been identified in terms of intracellular mechanisms leading to retinal photoreceptor cell death at post-translational levels. In order to find an effective therapy for RP, we must look for underlying common mechanisms that are responsible for the development of RP, instead of designing a specific therapy for each of the RP types with different causes. Therefore, in the present study, several animal models with different causes of RP were studied, including (1)Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) rats with a deficit of retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) function caused by rhodopsin mutation; (2) P23H rats, (3) S334ter rats, (4) photo stress rats, (5) retinal degeneration (rd) mice with a deficit of phosphodiesterase(PDE) function; and (6) cancer-associated retinopathy (CAR) model rats with a deficit of recoverin-dependent photoreceptor adaptation function. In each of these models, the following assessments were made in order to elucidate common pathological mechanisms among the models: (1) retinal function assessed by electroretinogram (ERG), (2) retinal morphology, (3) retinoid analysis, (4) rhodopsin regeneration, (5) rhodopsin phosphorylation and dephosphorylation, and (6) cytosolic cGMP levels. We found that unregulated photoreceptor adaptation processes caused by an imbalance of rhodopsin phosphorylation and dephosphorylation caused retinal dysfunction leading to photoreceptor cell death. As possible candidate drugs for normalizing these retinal dysfunctions and stopping further retinal degeneration, nilvadipine, a Ca channel blocker, retinoid derivatives, and anthocyanine were chosen and tested to determine their effect on the above animal models with retinal degeneration. Nilvadipine showed beneficial effects against retinal degeneration in all models tested, but retinoid derivatives and anthocyanine showed these beneficial effects in only some models. Thus our present data allowed us to test the effectiveness of nilvadipine in the treatment of human RP patients.     

Characterization of Wnt signaling during photoreceptor degeneration

PURPOSE: The Wnt pathway is an essential signaling cascade that regulates multiple processes in developing and adult tissues, including differentiation, cellular survival, and stem cell proliferation. The authors recently demonstrated altered expression of Wnt pathway genes during photoreceptor death in rd1 mice, suggesting an involvement for Wnt signaling in the disease process. In this study, the authors investigated the role of Wnt signaling in retinal degeneration. METHODS: The Wnt signaling reporter mouse line Tcf-LacZ was crossed with retinal degeneration rd1 mice, and beta-galactosidase expression was used to localize Wnt signaling during photoreceptor death. To analyze the role of Wnt signaling activation, primary mixed retinal cultures were prepared, and XTT and TUNEL assays were used to quantify cell death. Luciferase reporter assays were used to measure Wnt signaling. RESULTS: The canonical Wnt signaling pathway was activated in Müller glia and the ganglion cell layer during rod photoreceptor degeneration in rd1/Tcf-LacZ mice. Wnt signaling was confirmed in cultured primary Müller glia. Furthermore, Wnt signaling activators protected photoreceptors in primary retinal cultures from H(2)O(2)-induced oxidative stress. The Wnt ligands Wnt5a, Wnt5b, Wnt10a, and Wnt13 were expressed in the degenerating retina and are candidate Wnt signaling activators in vivo. CONCLUSIONS: This study is the first demonstration that Wnt signaling is activated in the degenerating retina and that it protects retinal cultures from oxidative stress. These data suggest that Wnt signaling is a component of the glial protective response during photoreceptor injury. Therefore, inducing Wnt activation, alone or in combination with growth factors, may increase the threshold for apoptosis and halt or delay further photoreceptor degeneration.     

Characterization of rhodopsin P23H-induced retinal degeneration in a Xenopus laevis model of retinitis pigmentosa

PURPOSE: To investigate the pathogenic mechanisms that underlie retinal degeneration induced by the rhodopsin mutation P23H in a Xenopus laevis model of RP. METHODS: Transgenic X. laevis were generated that expressed the rhodopsin mutants rhoP23H and rhoP23H/K29R (a variant incapable of transducin activation). Using quantitative dot blot assay, transgenic rhodopsin levels and the extent of retinal degeneration were determined. The contribution of rhodopsin signal transduction to cell death was assessed by comparison of rhoP23H and rhoP23H/K296R effects and by dark rearing of rhoP23H tadpoles. Intracellular localization and the oligomeric state of rhoP23H were determined by confocal immunofluorescence microscopy and Western blot analysis. RESULTS: RhoP23H induced retinal degeneration in a dose-dependent manner whereas expression of a control rhodopsin did not, indicating that rod photoreceptor death was specific to the P23H mutation and was not caused by the overexpression of rhodopsin. Neither abolishment of rhoP23H photosensitivity and ability to activate transducin nor dark rearing rescued rod viability. RhoP23H was localized primarily to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) of inner segments. Western blot analysis of transgenic retinas showed that rhoP23H was prone to form dimers and higher molecular weight oligomers. However, aggresomes were not observed in rhoP23H transgenic retinal sections, despite their being reported in cultured cells expressing rhoP23H. CONCLUSIONS: These results support a role for rhoP23H misfolding and inner segment accumulation in rod death, possibly by ER overload or other cellular stress pathways rather than by altered rhodopsin signal transduction or aggresome formation.     

A novel form of transducin-dependent retinal degeneration: accelerated retinal degeneration in the absence of rod transducin

PURPOSE: Rhodopsin mutations account for approximately 25% of human autosomal dominant retinal degenerations. However, the molecular mechanisms by which rhodopsin mutations cause photoreceptor cell death are unclear. Mutations in genes involved in the termination of rhodopsin signaling activity have been shown to cause degeneration by persistent activation of the phototransduction cascade. This study examined whether three disease-associated rhodopsin substitutions Pro347Ser, Lys296Glu, and the triple mutant Val20Gly, Pro23His, Pro27Leu (VPP) caused degeneration by persistent transducin-mediated signaling activity. METHODS: Transgenic mice expressing each of the rhodopsin mutants were crossed onto a transducin alpha-subunit null (Tr(alpha)(-/-)) background, and the rates of photoreceptor degeneration were compared with those of transgenic mice on a wild-type background. RESULTS: Mice expressing VPP-substituted rhodopsin had the same severity of degeneration in the presence or absence of Tr(alpha). Unexpectedly, mice expressing Pro347Ser- or Lys296Glu-substituted rhodopsins exhibited faster degeneration on a Tr(alpha)(-/-) background. To test whether the absence of alpha-transducin contributed to degeneration by favoring the formation of stable rhodopsin/arrestin complexes, mutant Pro347Ser(+), Tr(alpha)(-/-) mice lacking arrestin (Arr(-/-)) were analyzed. Rhodopsin/arrestin complexes were found not to contribute to degeneration. CONCLUSIONS: The authors hypothesized that the decay of metarhodopsin to apo-opsin and free all-trans-retinaldehyde is faster with Pro347Ser-substituted rhodopsin than it is with wild-type rhodopsin. Consistent with this, the lipofuscin fluorophores A2PE, A2E, and A2PE-H(2), which form from retinaldehyde, were elevated in Pro347Ser transgenic mice.     

Altered expression and interaction of adherens junction proteins in the developing OLM of the Rho(-/-) mouse

Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) represents a major cause of progressive retinal disease worldwide and comprises a heterogeneous group of inherited diseases that are characterised by primary degeneration of rod photoreceptors and secondary degeneration of cone photoreceptors in the retina. The outer limiting membrane (OLM) which allows for the interaction of photoreceptors with surrounding photoreceptors and Müller cells is compromised in many degenerative retinal diseases. Using indirect immunostaining of retinal cryosections from C-129 Wild Type (WT) and C-129 Rho(-/-) mice, we have determined levels of expression of the adherens junction associated proteins ZO-1, beta-catenin and p120-catenin at the OLM from newborn and 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5-week old animals. We have also used immunoprecipitation analysis to determine changes in the association of E-cadherin with ZO-1, beta-catenin and p120-catenin and the association of alpha-catenin with ZO-1 and beta-catenin at these time points in WT and Rho(-/-) mice. We have found that ZO-1 expression at the OLM is present in WT and Rho(-/-) mice after 2weeks, but that levels of expression at the OLM decrease after this time point in the Rho(-/-) mice. beta-catenin expression in the Rho(-/-) mice became compromised at the OLM after 3 weeks, showing a distinct change in staining pattern after 4 weeks and no staining at the OLM after 5 weeks. Moreover, we have shown that p120-catenin expression is not evident at the OLM of the Rho(-/-) mice at the 4 or 5 week time point. To complement this data, we have performed immunoprecipitation analysis on neural retinal lysates from WT and Rho(-/-) mice and herein report fluctuations in the association of E-cadherin with ZO-1, and beta-catenin, while showing that the interaction of E-cadherin with p120-catenin is not established in the retina of C-129 WT and Rho(-/-) mice until 4 weeks after birth and remains un-changed up to and including 5 weeks after birth. Meanwhile, we report that the association of alpha-catenin with ZO-1 is decreased in retinas of the Rho(-/-) from newborn animals up to and including 5 weeks after birth. We have also shown that the association of alpha-catenin and beta-catenin is not well established in WT and Rho(-/-) mice until at least 5 weeks after birth. We hypothesize that these retinal changes at the OLM may contribute significantly to the pathogenesis of retinal degenerations and may represent a unique therapeutic target for intervention in conditions involving rapid photoreceptor cell death.