Int. J. Dev. Biol. 60: 151 - 157 (2016)

https://doi.org/10.1387/ijdb.150402am

Vol 60, Issue 4-5-6

Noggin 1 overexpression in retinal progenitors affects bipolar cell generation

Published: 6 July 2016

Andrea Messina*^,1, Simone Bridi^1,2, Angela Bozza^1,3, Yuri Bozzi^3,4, Marie-Laure Baudet² and Simona Casarosa*^,1,4

¹Developmental Neurobiology Laboratory, CIBIO, University of Trento, Italy, ²The Armenise-Harvard Laboratory of Axonal Biology, CIBIO, University of Trento, Italy, ³Molecular Neuropathology Laboratory, CIBIO, University of Trento and ⁴CNR Neuroscience Institute, Pisa, Italy

Abstract

Waves of Bone Morphogenetic Proteins (BMPs) and their antagonists are present during initial eye development, but their possible roles in retinogenesis are still unknown. We have recently shown that noggin 1, a BMP antagonist, renders pluripotent cells able to differentiate into retinal precursors, and might be involved in the maintenance of retinal structures in the adult vertebrate eye. Here, we report that noggin 1, differently from noggin 2 and noggin 4, is expressed during all phases of Xenopus laevis retinal development. Gain-of-function experiments by electroporation in the optic vesicle show that overexpression of noggin 1 significantly decreases the number of bipolar cells in the inner nuclear layer of the retina, without significantly affecting the generation of the other retinal cell types. Our data suggest that BMP signaling could be involved in the differentiation of retinal progenitors into specific retinal subtypes during late phases of vertebrate retinal development.

Keywords

noggin 1, retinal differentiation, BMP inhibition