TY - JOUR
T1 - Visual Properties of Transgenic Rats Harboring the Channelrhodopsin-2 Gene Regulated by the Thy-1.2 Promoter
AU - Tomita, Hiroshi
AU - Sugano, Eriko
AU - Fukazawa, Yugo
AU - Isago, Hitomi
AU - Sugiyama, Yuka
AU - Hiroi, Teru
AU - Ishizuka, Toru
AU - Mushiake, Hajime
AU - Kato, Megumi
AU - Hirabayashi, Masumi
AU - Shigemoto, Ryuichi
AU - Yawo, Hiromu
AU - Tamai, Makoto
PY - 2009
Y1 - 2009
N2 - Channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2), one of the archea-type rhodopsins from green algae, is a potentially useful optogenetic tool for restoring vision in patients with photoreceptor degeneration, such as retinitis pigmentosa. If the ChR2 gene is transferred to retinal ganglion cells (RGCs), which send visual information to the brain, the RGCs may be repurposed to act as photoreceptors. In this study, by using a transgenic rat expressing ChR2 specifically in the RGCs under the regulation of a Thy-1.2 promoter, we tested the possibility that direct photoactivation of RGCs could restore effective vision. Although the contrast sensitivities of the optomotor responses of transgenic rats were similar to those observed in the wild-type rats, they were enhanced for visual stimuli of low-spatial frequency after the degeneration of native photoreceptors. This result suggests that the visual signals derived from the ChR2-expressing RGCs were reinterpreted by the brain to form behavior-related vision.
AB - Channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2), one of the archea-type rhodopsins from green algae, is a potentially useful optogenetic tool for restoring vision in patients with photoreceptor degeneration, such as retinitis pigmentosa. If the ChR2 gene is transferred to retinal ganglion cells (RGCs), which send visual information to the brain, the RGCs may be repurposed to act as photoreceptors. In this study, by using a transgenic rat expressing ChR2 specifically in the RGCs under the regulation of a Thy-1.2 promoter, we tested the possibility that direct photoactivation of RGCs could restore effective vision. Although the contrast sensitivities of the optomotor responses of transgenic rats were similar to those observed in the wild-type rats, they were enhanced for visual stimuli of low-spatial frequency after the degeneration of native photoreceptors. This result suggests that the visual signals derived from the ChR2-expressing RGCs were reinterpreted by the brain to form behavior-related vision.
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U2 - 10.1371/journal.pone.0007679
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0007679
M3 - Article
C2 - 19893752
AN - SCOPUS:77951217504
VL - 4
JO - PLoS One
JF - PLoS One
SN - 1932-6203
IS - 11
M1 - e0007679
ER -