Following retinal injury, glial cells within the retina undergo a response that is characterized by the proliferation of astrocytes, Müller cells, and retinal pigment epithelial cells. CD81, a small membrane protein known to be involved in cell proliferation, is up-regulated after injury. This study focuses on the temporal regulation of CD81, relating the expression of this protein to glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), the classic marker of gliosis. CD81 levels were elevated at 7 days after injury and remained elevated at 30 days after injury; GFAP was increased at 7 days and continued to increase until 30 days post injury. This association of CD81 with glial reactivity may provide a clue to the regulation of the proliferative response following retinal injury.
KeywordsCD81; Glial fibrillary acidic protein; Retina; Injury; Tetraspanin; Gliosis; ProliferationThe response of the retina to trauma involves well-characterized cellular reactions [16], many of them similar to responses that occur in other parts of the central nervous system. As in the brain and spinal cord, a dramatic up-regulation of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) follows retinal injury. This up-regulation of GFAP marks reactive retinal astrocytes [12,16], which hypertrophy and increase their expression of the intermediate filament protein GFAP [3,13,18]. Müller glia and the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), which are unique to the retina, also demonstrate characteristic responses to injury. Müller cells, like astrocytes, up-regulate GFAP. In addition, both Müller glia cells and RPE cells can proliferate to form scar tissues within the retina [14]. They also can migrate into the vitreal space, proliferate, and form cellular membranes [7], a response known as proliferative vitreoretinopathy [11]. These cellular membranes can then contract and cause secondary retinal detachments. The reactive glial responses and the proliferation of non-neuronal cells can have serious consequences, including loss of sight.Studies in our laboratory have identified a protein, CD81, which plays a role in the response of the brain [9], spinal cord [5], and retina [10]. We originally called CD81 the target of the antiproliferative antibody. As that name implies, this protein is part of a molecular complex that controls the proliferation of glial cells. We have hypothesized that this CD81 molecular complex is a key element in the contact inhibition between glial cells in the brain. Antibodies directed against CD81 depress the mitotic activity of cultured cells [9,17]. Furthermore, CD81 is expressed by glial cells in the brain during the second postnatal week, a time when their mitotic activity is down-regulated [19]. The antiproliferative role of this protein is confirmed by mice with a CD81-null mutation [10]. These CD81-null mice have very large brains containing an over abundance of astrocytes and microglia [10]. We have found that CD81 is In this study, we used the monoclonal antibody AMP1 to recognize CD81 [9]. A polyclonal antibody purchased from Li...