Neural extracellular matrix regulates visual sensory motor integration
Jacqueline Reinhard,
Cornelius Mueller-Buehl,
Susanne Wiemann,
Lars Roll,
Veronika Luft,
Hamed Shabani,
Daniel L. Rathbun,
Lin Gan,
Chao-Chung Kuo,
Julia Franzen,
Stephanie C. Joachim,
Andreas Faissner
Affiliations
Jacqueline Reinhard
Department of Cell Morphology and Molecular Neurobiology, Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology, Ruhr University Bochum, 44780 Bochum, Germany; Corresponding author
Cornelius Mueller-Buehl
Department of Cell Morphology and Molecular Neurobiology, Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology, Ruhr University Bochum, 44780 Bochum, Germany
Susanne Wiemann
Department of Cell Morphology and Molecular Neurobiology, Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology, Ruhr University Bochum, 44780 Bochum, Germany
Lars Roll
Department of Cell Morphology and Molecular Neurobiology, Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology, Ruhr University Bochum, 44780 Bochum, Germany
Veronika Luft
Department of Cell Morphology and Molecular Neurobiology, Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology, Ruhr University Bochum, 44780 Bochum, Germany
Hamed Shabani
Institute for Ophthalmic Research, Centre for Ophthalmology, Eberhard-Karls-University Tuebingen, 72076 Tuebingen, Germany
Daniel L. Rathbun
Institute for Ophthalmic Research, Centre for Ophthalmology, Eberhard-Karls-University Tuebingen, 72076 Tuebingen, Germany
Lin Gan
Interdisciplinary Centre for Clinical Research Aachen, RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen, Germany
Chao-Chung Kuo
Interdisciplinary Centre for Clinical Research Aachen, RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen, Germany
Julia Franzen
Interdisciplinary Centre for Clinical Research Aachen, RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen, Germany
Stephanie C. Joachim
Experimental Eye Research Institute, University Eye Hospital, Ruhr University Bochum, 44892 Bochum, Germany
Andreas Faissner
Department of Cell Morphology and Molecular Neurobiology, Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology, Ruhr University Bochum, 44780 Bochum, Germany; Corresponding author
Summary: Visual processing depends on sensitive and balanced synaptic neurotransmission. Extracellular matrix proteins in the environment of cells are key modulators in synaptogenesis and synaptic plasticity. In the present study, we provide evidence that the combined loss of the four extracellular matrix components, brevican, neurocan, tenascin-C, and tenascin-R, in quadruple knockout mice leads to severe retinal dysfunction and diminished visual motion processing in vivo. Remarkably, impaired visual motion processing was accompanied by a developmental loss of cholinergic direction-selective starburst amacrine cells. Additionally, we noted imbalance of inhibitory and excitatory synaptic signaling in the quadruple knockout retina. Collectively, the study offers insights into the functional importance of four key extracellular matrix proteins for retinal function, visual motion processing, and synaptic signaling.
