Photoreceptor function of retinal transplants implicated by light-dark shift of S-antigen and rod transducin

The aim was to demonstrate functional properties of transplanted histologic ally normal photoreceptors. Subretinal intact-sheet transplants of fetal E1 7-E20 rat retinas to light-damaged albino rat eyes were fixed in light or d ark, 2 to 42 weeks after transplantation, and stained immunohistochemically for certain phototransduction proteins. In light adapted transplants, tran sducin was predominantly found in inner segments of parallel-organized phot oreceptors. Transducin shifted to the outer segments with dark-adaptation. S-antigen distribution was opposite to transducin. Rhodopsin distribution d id not change. The shift of signal transduction proteins correlated to the light conditions indicates that normal phototransduction processes were est ablished in photoreceptors of transplanted retinal sheets. (C) 1999 Elsevie r Science Ltd. All rights reserved.