Peroxidase uptake by photoreceptor terminals of the skate retina.

Abstract

The photoreceptors of dark-adapted skate [Raja erinacea and R. oscellata] retinas bathed in a Ringer solution containing horseradish peroxidase (HRP) incorporated the tracer into membrane-bound compartments within the synaptic terminal of the cell; after 1 or 2 h of incubation approximately 10-38% of the synaptic vesicles were labeled. The receptors appeared to be functioning normally throughout the incubation period, since electrical potentials of normal amplitude could be elicited in response to dim photic stimuli. It was possible to block the uptake of peroxidase by a regimen of light adaptation that effectively suppressed light-induced activity in the electroretinogram. If during incubation with peroxidase retinas were exposed at 10-min intervals to an intense 1-ms flash from a xenon discharge tube, the receptor terminals were almost completely devoid of peroxidase; fewer than 2% of the vesicles were labeled. The suppression of HRP uptake could also be achieved in dark-adapted retinas by adding Mg2+ to the bathing solution, suggesting that Ca2+ is necessary for transmitter release from vesicles in the receptor terminals. Vertebrate photoreceptors apparently discharge a neurotransmitter in darkness, and light decreases the release of this substance. It seems likely that the incorporation of peroxidase in vesicles of physiologically active receptor terminals reflects a mechanism for the retrieval of vesicle membrane after exocytosis.