Thy-1 is critical for normal retinal development

In the mammalian retina, Thy-1, the most abundant mammalian neuronal surfac e glycoprotein, is found predominantly if not exclusively on retinal gangli on cells. We hypothesized that Thy-1 plays a significant role in retinal de velopment. Neurite outgrowth of retinal ganglion cells from Thy-1(-) mice o ver multiple substrates was compared to that seen with wild-type controls. Adult mouse retinas were histologically compared between Thy-1(-) and three strains of Thy-1 positive mice. Thy-1(-) retinal ganglion cells had signif icantly less neurite outgrowth than controls. The inner nuclear, inner plex iform, ganglion cell and outer segment/pigment epithelium layers were thinn er in Thy-1(-) retinae than in controls. Thy-1 appears to be critical for n ormal retinal development. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserv ed.