RNA binding protein with multiple splicing (RBPMS) is expressed exclusively in retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) in the retina and can label all RGCs in normal retinas of mice, rats, guinea pigs, rabbits, cats, and monkeys, but its function in these cells is not known. As a result of the limited knowledge regarding RBPMS, we analyzed the expression of RBPMS in the retina of different mammalian species (humans, pigs, and rats), in various stages of development (neonatal and adult) and with different levels of injury (control, hypoxia, and organotypic culture or explants). In control conditions, RBPMS was localized in the RGCs somas in the ganglion cell layer, whereas in hypoxic conditions, it was localized in the RGCs dendrites in the inner plexiform layer. Such differential distributions of RBPMS occurred in all analyzed species, and in adult and neonatal retinas. Furthermore, we demonstrate RBPMS localization in the degenerating RGCs axons in the nerve fiber layer of retinal explants. This is the first evidence regarding the possible transport of RBPMS in response to physiological damage in a mammalian retina. Therefore, RBPMS should be further investigated in relation to its role in axonal and dendritic degeneration.
Keywords: RNA binding protein with multiple splicing; development; ganglion cell layer; inner plexiform layer; retinal ganglion cells.