J. Frisen et al., EPHRIN-A5 (AL-1 RAGS) IS ESSENTIAL FOR PROPER RETINAL AXON GUIDANCE AND TOPOGRAPHIC MAPPING IN THE MAMMALIAN VISUAL-SYSTEM/, Neuron, 20(2), 1998, pp. 235-243
Ephrin-A5 (AL-1/RAGS), a ligand for Eph receptor tyrosine kinases, rep
els retinal axons in vitro and has a graded expression in the superior
colliculus (SC), the major midbrain target of retinal ganglion cells.
These properties implicate ephrin-A5 in the formation of topographic
maps, a fundamental organizational feature of the nervous system. To t
est this hypothesis, we generated mice lacking ephrin-A5. The majority
of ephrin-A5(-/-) mice develop to adulthood, are morphologically inta
ct, and have normal anterior-posterior patterning of the midbrain. How
ever, within the SC, retinal axons establish and maintain dense arbori
zations at topographically incorrect sites that correlate with locatio
ns of low expression of the related ligand ephrin-A2. In addition, ret
inal axons transiently over-shoot the SC and extend aberrantly into th
e inferior colliculus (IC). This defect is consistent with the high le
ver of ephrin-A5 expression in the IC and the finding that retinal axo
n growth on membranes from wild-type IC is inhibited relative to that
on membranes from ephrin-A5(-/-) IC. These findings show that ephrin-A
5 is required for the proper guidance and mapping of retinal axons in
the mammalian midbrain.