PDF(Pubmed)
Abstract：
Deprivation of one sense can be followed by enhanced development of other senses via cross-modal plasticity mechanisms. To study the effect of whisker tactile deprivation on vision during the early stages of development, we clipped the bilateral whiskers of young mice and found that their vision was impaired but later recovered to normal levels. Our results demonstrate that inhibition of the PI3K/AKT/ERK signaling pathway caused short-term visual impairment during early development, while high expression levels of Crystallin Alpha A (CRYAA) and Gap Junction Protein Alpha 8 (GJA8) in the retina led to the recovery of developmental visual acuity. Interestingly, analysis of single-cell sequencing results from human embryonic retinas at 9-19 gestational weeks (GW) revealed that CRYAA and GJA8 display stage-specific peak expression during human embryonic retinal development, suggesting potential functions in visual development. Our data show that high expression levels of CRYAA and GJA8 in the retina after whisker deprivation rescue impaired visual development, which may provide a foundation for further research on the mechanisms of cross-modal plasticity and in particular, offer new insights into the mechanisms underlying tactile-visual cross-modal development.
摘要：
一种感觉的剥夺可以通过跨模态可塑性机制增强其他感觉的发展。为了研究晶须触觉剥夺对发育早期视觉的影响，我们剪下幼鼠的双边胡须，发现它们的视力受损，但后来恢复到正常水平。我们的结果表明，PI3K/AKT/ERK信号通路的抑制在早期发育过程中引起短期视力损害，而晶体蛋白αA（CRYAA）和间隙连接蛋白α8（GJA8）在视网膜中的高表达水平导致发育视力的恢复。有趣的是,对9-19孕周（GW）的人胚胎视网膜单细胞测序结果的分析显示，CRYAA和GJA8在人胚胎视网膜发育过程中显示出阶段特异性的峰值表达，暗示视觉发育中的潜在功能。我们的数据表明，晶须剥夺后视网膜中CRYAA和GJA8的高表达水平挽救视力发育受损，这为进一步研究跨模态可塑性的机理奠定了基础,为触觉-视觉交叉模式发展的潜在机制提供新的见解。
