Retinitis pigmentosa is the most common form of inherited blindness in humans. A well-studied model of the disease is the rd1 mouse, characterized by a loss of function mutation in the catalytic β subunit of the phosphodiesterase 6 (Pde6) holoenzyme involved in phototransduction within rods and cones. The period of photoreceptor degeneration in the rd1 mouse occurs during postnatal days 10-21. In previous work, only Pde6β and vesicular-trafficking protein Prenylated Rab Acceptor 1 (PRA1) have been found to be consistently downregulated during the first ten days following birth. In a yeast-two-hybrid assay conducted by our lab, PRA1 was shown to interact with Charged Multivesicular Body Protein 2B (CHMP2B), an endosomal sorting protein that has been implicated in several neurodegenerative diseases, such as frontotemporal dementia and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. We investigated whether CHMP2B is mislocalized in the rd1 mouse. Immunohistochemical labeling of CHMP2B was done in both postnatal wild type and rd1 mouse retinas. Prior to the onset of degeneration, CHMP2B immunolabeling was weaker in rd1 retinas, particularly in the developing photoreceptor synaptic layer, compared to wild type. Furthermore, staining of CHMP2B in wild type photoreceptors peaked at postnatal day 12, while CHMP2B staining in rd1 retinas was diffuse and disorganized. In conclusion, these findings show that proper localization of CHMP2B is disrupted in rd1 photoreceptors. Further studies are needed to investigate possible roles for CHMP2B in endocytic activity that is vital to photoreceptor maintenance, as well as differentiation, and development in mouse photoreceptors.
Keywords: Mus musculus; development; immunohistochemistry; photoreceptor; retinal degeneration; retinitis pigmentosa; vesicular trafficking.