Tc. Nag et al., IMMUNOHISTOCHEMICAL LOCALIZATION OF TAURINE IN THE RETINA OF DEVELOPING AND ADULT HUMAN AND ADULT MONKEY, Neurochemistry international, 33(2), 1998, pp. 195-200
The localization of taurine in the retina of fetal (12-25 weeks of ges
tation), postnatal (five-month-old infant) and adult human (35- and 65
-year-old) was examined by immunohistochemistry. Additionally, retinas
of fresh adult monkey, which served as positive controls, were employ
ed. No immunoreactivity was found in the fetal retinas from 12-15 week
s of gestation. At 16-17 weeks of gestation, the ganglion cells and so
me of their axons were conspicuously labelled for taurine. At 18-19 we
eks, Muller glial endfeet, the inner plexiform layer, some amacrine an
d putative horizontal cells and photoreceptors showed moderate immunor
eactivity. With further development at 20-21 and 24-25 weeks of gestat
ion, the immunoreactivity was prominent in Muller cell endfeet, some b
ipolar cells and in horizontal cells that were aligned in a row in the
inner nuclear layer, close to the fovea. At both fetal stages, the ph
otoreceptors and horizontal cells showed strong immunoreactivity. In t
he postnatal infant retina, taurine immunoreactivity was present in so
me amacrine cells and photoreceptor inner segments and nuclei, but not
in ganglion and horizontal cells, which was also the pattern noted in
the adult monkey and human retinas. With development, a shift in the
intensity of taurine immunoreactivity was noted towards the outer reti
na. The expression of taurine immunoreactivity in most fetal retinal n
eurons implies a role for this amino acid in the normal development as
well as maturation of human retina. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. Al
l rights reserved.