A role for Prenylated rab acceptor 1 in vertebrate photoreceptor development

The rd1 mouse retina is a well-studied model of retinal degeneration where rod photoreceptors undergo cell death beginning at postnatal day P10 until P21. This period coincides with photoreceptor terminal differentiation in a normal retina. We have used the rd1 retina as a model to investigate early molecular defects in developing rod photoreceptors prior to the onset of degeneration. Using a microarray approach, we performed gene profiling comparing rd1 and wild type retinas at four time points starting at P2, prior to any obvious biochemical or morphological differences, and concluding at P8, prior to the initiation of cell death. We have identified genes that are differentially regulated in the rd1 retina at early time points, which may give insights into developmental defects that precede photoreceptor cell death. This is the first report of PRA1 expression in the retina. Our data support the hypothesis that PRA1 plays an important role in vesicular trafficking between the Golgi and cilia in differentiating and mature rod photoreceptors.

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Dickison VM, Richmond AM, Abu Irqeba A, Martak JG, Hoge SC, Brooks MJ, Othman MI, Khanna R, Mears AJ, Chowdhury AY, Swaroop A, Ogilvie JM