Pannexin3 As A Novel Marker For Ganglion Cells In The Feline Retina

Methods: Morphological profiling and conventional immunohistochemistry were applied to RGCs in the young adult domestic cats. Pannexin3 (Panx3) antibody and RBPMS (a specific RGCs marker) antibody were used to label RGCs. Soma size and topographic distribution pattern of these RGCs was investigated by conventional light microscope and confocal imaging and analyzed with commercial software (Adobe Photoshop CS5 and Microsoft Excel 2016).Results: The present study shows that Panx3 antibody selectively labeled RGCs (Panx3-RGCs) of various soma size at different retinal locations. The peak density of Panx3-RGCs was at the center of area centralis and the density reduced with eccentricities. To quantify density distributions, total number of Panx3-RGCs at each sampling area were counted and four sampling areas at three eccentricities were selected. The averaged density were 2284±334/mm …