Fig. 4.

AII-like ACs in chicken retina expressed Cx35. (A) Prox1 immunostaining in the chicken retina. Prox1-immunoreactive AII-like AC bodies and bipolar cells in the INL in a whole-mounted chicken retina. (B) Prox1 immunoreactivity in AII AC and bipolar cell bodies in INL in the vertical section. Prox1-immunoreactive AC bodies are present at the bottom of the INL. (C) Prox1-immunoreactive AII-like AC’s cell body co-localized with neurobiotin injection. The AII-like AC was similar to AII AC’s morphology in the mouse retina, having thick lobular appendages in the OFF sublamina of the IPL and descending arboreal processes to the ON sublamina of the IPL. (D) Cy3-labeled AII-like AC in the chicken retina (200 μm slice) was targeted and injected with neurobiotin in the INL to show single AII-like AC’s soma–dendritic morphology in Z-stack by three-dimensional reconstruction image. The cell had a round cell body with distinct dendritic trees. The proximal dendrites near soma had lobular appendages. The distal processes overlapped along central-to-peripheral axes. In addition, the injected cell is coupled with the nearby cells. (E) AII-like AC double-labeled with anti-Cx35 (green) puncta located predominately on the arboreal dendrites (as indicated by white arrows). (F) Single plane of the confocal image showing Cx35 puncta on segments of AII like AC dendrites. A–C: Scale bar is 20 μm; D–F: Scale bar is 5 μm.