Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-2lccl Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-28T20:10:12.629Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Development of the primate area of high acuity, 3: Temporal relationships between pit formation, retinal elongation and cone packing

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 June 2005

A.D. SPRINGER
Affiliation:
Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy, New York Medical College, Valhalla
A.E. HENDRICKSON
Affiliation:
Biological Structure and Ophthalmology, University of Washington, Seattle

Abstract

By establishing an avascular, highly elastic, region within the fetal area of high acuity (AHA), the developing primate eye has created a unique substrate on which the mechanical forces of intraocular pressure (IOP) and growth-induced retinal stretch (stretch) can act. We proposed (Springer & Hendrickson, 2004b) that these forces generate both the pit and high cone density found in the adult AHA. In this paper, we use quantitative measures to determine the temporal relationships between nasal and temporal retinal elongation, changes in pit depth, cone packing, and cone morphology over M. nemestrina retinal development. Retinal length increased rapidly to about 105 days postconception (dpc; Phase 1) and then elongation virtually ceased (Phase 2) until just after birth (180 dpc). Retinal elongation due to stretch resumed during Phase 3 until approximately 315 dpc (4–5 months), after which time the retina appeared mature (Phase 4). The pit appeared during the quiescent Phase 2, suggesting that IOP acts, in conjunction with molecular changes in the inner retina, on the highly elastic, avascular, AHA to generate a deep, narrow pit and causes inner retinal cellular displacements. Subsequently (Phase 3), the pit widened, became 50% shallower and central inner retinal lamina thinned slightly due to a small amount of retinal stretch occurring in the AHA. Centripetal movement of cones was minimal until just after birth when the pit reached 88% of its maximal depth. Accelerated cone packing during Phase 3 was temporally correlated with increased stretch. A slight stretching of the central inner retina generates “lift” forces that cause the pit to become shallower and wider. In turn, these “lift” forces draw cones toward the center of the AHA (Springer, 1999). Localized changes in cone morphology associated with packing, included smaller cell body size, a change from a monolayer to a multilayered mound of cell bodies, elongation of inner segments and tilting of the apical portion toward the AHA. These changes began in cones overlying the edges of the pit, not its center. Henle cone axons formed initially in association with centrifugal displacement of the inner retina during pit formation, with an additional subsequent elongation due to cones moving centripetally. An integrated, two-factor model of AHA formation is presented. Initially, during the second half of gestation (Phase 2), IOP acts on the hyperelastic avascular zone of the AHA to generate a deep pit in the inner retina. In the first 4 months after birth (Phase 3), central retinal stretch generates tensile “lift” forces that remodel the pit and pack cones by drawing them toward the AHA center.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© 2005 Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Abercrombie, M. (1946). Estimation of nuclear population from microtome sections. Anatomical Records 94, 239247.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Abramov, I., Gordon, J., Hendrickson, A., Hainline, L., Dobson, V., & LaBossiere, E. (1982). The retina of the newborn human infant. Science 217, 265267.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bach, L. & Seefelder, P. (1914). Atlas zur Entwicklungsgeschichte des Menschlichen. Auges, Leipzig: Wilhelm Englemann.
Boothe, R.G., Dobson, V., & Teller, D.Y. (1985). Postnatal development of vision in human and nonhuman primates. Annual Review of Neuroscience 8, 495545.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boycott, B.B., Hopkins, J.M., & Sperling, H.G. (1987). Cone connections of the horizontal cells of the rhesus monkey's retina. Proceedings of the Royal Society B (London) 229, 345379.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bumsted, K., Jasoni, C., Szel, A., & Hendrickson, A. (1997). Spatial and temporal expression of cone opsins during monkey retinal development. Journal of Comparative Neurology 378, 117134.3.0.CO;2-7>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Coggeshall, R.E. & Lekan, H.A. (1996). Methods for determining numbers of cells and synapses: A case for more uniform standards of review. Journal of Comparative Neurology 364, 615.3.0.CO;2-9>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cornish, E.E., Natoli, R.C., Hendrickson, A., & Provis, J.M. (2004). Differential distribution of fibroblast growth factor receptors (FGFRs) on foveal cones: FGFR-4 is an early marker of cone photoreceptors. Molecular Vision 10, 114.Google Scholar
Crooks, J., Okada, M., & Hendrickson, A.E. (1995). Quantitative analysis of synaptogenesis in the inner plexiform layer of macaque monkey fovea. Journal of Comparative Neurology 360, 349362.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Curcio, C.A. & Hendrickson, A.E. (1991). Organization and development of the primate photoreceptor mosaic. In Progress in Retinal Research, ed. Osborne, N. & Chader, J., pp. 89120. Oxford: Pergamon Press.CrossRef
Curcio, C.A., Sloan, K.R., Kalina, R.E., & Hendrickson, A.E. (1990). Human photoreceptor topography. Journal of Comparative Neurology 292, 497523.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Curran, R.E. & Robb, R.M. (1976). Isolated foveal hypoplasia. Archives of Ophthalmology 94, 4850.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Curtin, B.J. (1985). The Myopias. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Harper & Row.
Diaz-Araya, C. & Provis, J.M. (1992). Evidence of photoreceptor migration during early foveal development: A quantitative analysis of human fetal retinae. Visual Neuroscience 8, 505514.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fulton, A.B., Albert, D.M., & Craft, J.L. (1978). Human albinism. Light and electron microscopy study. Archives of Ophthalmology 96, 305310.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gariano, R.F., Iruela-Arispe, M.L., & Hendrickson, A.E. (1994). Vascular development in primate retina: Comparison of laminar plexus formation in monkey and human. Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science 35, 34423455.Google Scholar
Gariano, R.F., Provis, J.M., & Hendrickson, A.E. (2000). Development of the foveal avascular zone. Ophthalmology 107, 1026.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Guillery, R.W. & Herrup, K. (1997). Quantification without pontification: Choosing a method for counting objects in sectioned tissues. Journal of Comparative Neurology 386, 27.3.0.CO;2-6>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hendrickson, A. (1992). A morphological comparison of foveal development in man and monkey. Eye 6, 136144.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hendrickson, A. & Kupfer, C. (1976). The histogenesis of the fovea in the macaque monkey. Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science 15, 746756.Google Scholar
Hendrickson, A.E., Troilo, D., & Springer, A.D. (2003). Foveal development in the marmoset monkey. Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science 44, E-Abstract 1607.Google Scholar
Hendrickson, A.E. & Yuodelis, C. (1984). The morphological development of the human fovea. Ophthalmology 91, 603612.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kelling, S.T., Sengelaub, D.R., Wikler, K.C., & Finlay, B.L. (1989). Differential elasticity of the immature retina: A contribution to the development of the area centralis? Visual Neuroscience 2, 117120.Google Scholar
Krebs, W. & Krebs, I. (1991). Primate Retina and Choroid Atlas of Its Fine Structure in Man and Monkey. New York: Springer-Verlag.CrossRef
LaVail, M.M., Rapaport, D.H., & Rakic, P. (1991). Cytogenesis in the monkey retina. Journal of Comparative Neurology 309, 86114.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Leventhal, A.G., Ault, S.J., Vitek, D.J., & Shou, T. (1989). Extrinsic determinants of retinal ganglion cell development in primates. Journal of Comparative Neurology 286, 17089.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McGuire, D.E., Weinreb, R.N., & Goldbaum, M.H. (2003). Foveal hypoplasia demonstrated in vivo with optical coherence tomography. American Journal of Ophthalmology 135, 112114.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Meyer, C.H., Lapolice, D.J., & Freedman, S.F. (2002). Foveal hypoplasia in oculocutaneous albinism demonstrated by optical coherence tomography. American Journal of Ophthalmology 133, 409410.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Okada, M., Erickson, A., & Hendrickson, A. (1994). Light and electron microscopic analysis of synaptic development in Macaca monkey retina as detected by immunocytochemical labeling for the synaptic vesicle protein, SV2. Journal of Comparative Neurology 339, 535558.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Oliver, M.D., Dotan, S.A., Chemke, J., & Abraham, F.A. (1987). Isolated foveal hypoplasia. British Journal of Ophthalmology 71, 926930.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Packer, O., Hendrickson, A.E., & Curcio, C.A. (1989). Photoreceptor topography of the retina in the adult pigtail macaque (Macaca nemestrina). Journal of Comparative Neurology 288, 165183.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Packer, O., Hendrickson, A.E., & Curcio, C.A. (1990). Developmental redistribution of photoreceptors across the Macaca nemestrina (pigtail macaque) retina. Journal of Comparative Neurology 298, 472493.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Perry, V.H. & Cowey, A. (1988). The lengths of the fibres of Henle in the retina of macaque monkeys: Implications for vision. Neuroscience 25, 225236.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Polyak, S.L. (1941). The Retina: The Anatomy and the Histology of the Retina in Man, Ape, and Monkey, Including the Consideration of Visual Functions, the History of Physiological Optics, and the Histological Laboratory Technique. Chicago, Illinois: University of Chicago Press.
Provis, J., Hendrickson, A.E., Natoli, R.C., & Cornish, E.E.G. (2004). A role for fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) in morphological specialization of the primate foveal cone mosaic? Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science 45, E-Abstract 5305.Google Scholar
Provis, J.M. (2001). Development of the primate retinal vasculature. Progress in Retina and Eye Research 20, 799821.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Provis, J.M., Diaz, C.M., & Dreher, B. (1998). Ontogeny of the primate fovea: A central issue in retinal development. Progress in Neurobiology 54, 549580.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Provis, J.M., Sandercoe, T., & Hendrickson, A.E. (2000). Astrocytes and blood vessels define the foveal rim during primate retinal development. Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science 41, 28272836.Google Scholar
Robb, R.M. (1982). Increase in retinal surface area during infancy and childhood. Journal of Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus 19, 1620.Google Scholar
Robinson, S.R. & Hendrickson, A. (1995). Shifting relationships between photoreceptors and pigment epithelial cells in monkey retina: Implications for the development of retinal topography. Visual Neuroscience 12, 767778.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sandercoe, T.M., Geller, S.F., Hendrickson, A.E., Stone, J., & Provis, J.M. (2003). VEGF expression by ganglion cells in central retina before formation of the foveal depression in monkey retina: Evidence of developmental hypoxia. Journal of Comparative Neurology 462, 4254.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schein, S.J. (1988). Anatomy of macaque fovea and spatial densities of neurons in foveal representation. Journal of Comparative Neurology 269, 479505.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Springer, A.D. (1999). New role for the primate fovea: A retinal excavation determines photoreceptor deployment and shape. Visual Neuroscience 16, 629636.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Springer, A.D. & Hendrickson, A.E. (2004a). Development of the primate area of high acuity. 1. Use of finite-element analysis models to identify mechanical variables affecting pit formation. Visual Neuroscience 21, 5362.Google Scholar
Springer, A.D. & Hendrickson, A.E. (2004b). Development of the primate area of high acuity. 2. Quantitative morphological changes associated with retina and pars plana growth. Visual Neuroscience 21, 775790.Google Scholar
Steineke, T.C. & Kirby, M.A. (1993). Early axon outgrowth of retinal ganglion cells in the fetal rhesus macaque. Developmental Brain Research 74, 151162.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Summers, C.G., Knobloch, W.H., Witkop, C.J., Jr., & King, R.A. (1988). Hermansky-Pudlak syndrome. Ophthalmic findings. Ophthalmology 95, 545554.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Troilo, D. (1992). Neonatal eye growth and emmetropisation—A literature review. Eye 6, 154160.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Troilo, D. (1998). Changes in retinal morphology following experimentally induced myopia. Optical Society of America Technical Digest 1, 206209.Google Scholar
Wu, W., Peters, W.H.I., & Hammer, M.E. (1987). Basic mechanical properties of retina in simple elongation. Journal of Biomechanical Engineering 109, 6567.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yuodelis, C. & Hendrickson, A. (1986). A qualitative and quantitative analysis of the human fovea during development. Vision Research 26, 847855.CrossRefGoogle Scholar