- Title Information
- Title
- Diversity demystified: Tbx20 sheds light on the molecular program of
melanopsi-expressing retinal ganglion cells
- Name:
Personal
- Name Part
- Saali, Alexandra
- Role
- Role Term:
Text
- creator
- Name:
Personal
- Name Part
- Berson, David
- Role
- Role Term:
Text
- advisor
- affiliation
- Brown University. Department of Neuroscience
- Name:
Corporate
- Name Part
- Brown University. Undergraduate Teaching and Research Award
- Role
- Role Term:
Text
- research program
- Type of Resource
- still image
- Genre (aat)
- posters
- Origin Information
- Place
- Place Term:
Text
- Providence
- Publisher
- Brown University
- Date Created
(encoding="w3cdtf")
- 2015-08-07
- Physical Description
- Extent
- 1 poster
- digitalOrigin
- reformatted digital
- Abstract
- Retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) are the output neurons of the eye responsible for
relaying different aspects of the visual world to the brain. A rare subset of RGCs are
important for processing information important for unconscious visual functions such as
circadian rhythms, but operate independently of classical input from rod and cone
photoreceptors. These intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCs) have been
intensely studied for more than a decade and are currently well understood in terms of
morphology, physiology, and brain projections. However, we still have incomplete knowledge
of what molecular program provide ipRGCs with their unique visual functions. Therefore, our
research aims have been directed towards systematically identifying which genes are
specifically expressed in ipRGCs and are in position to maintain ipRGC adult neuronal
identity. My studies investigate a novel transcription factor, Tbx20, which is suggested by
our transcriptomics studies to be enriched in ipRGCs compared to generic RGCs.
Interestingly, Tbx20 expression in adult cardiomyocytes functions to repress alternative
cell fates and promote the adult cell-specific identity. In our studies, Tbx20 is revealed
to be expressed in a subset of the major ipRGC subtypes, and are well-positioned to be a
primary factor important for maintaining their unique neuron identity into
adulthood.
- Subject (LCSH)
- Topic
- Retinal ganglion cells
- Identifier:
DOI
- 10.26300/1gay-xe42