Biphasic expression of thyroid hormone receptor TRb1 in mammalian retina and anterior ocular tissues

Purpose: Using customized RNA-sequencing analyses to reveal notably different expression profiles of TRb1 and TRb2 in mouse retina. Method and Results: TRb2 peaks early whereas TRb1 peaks later during retinal maturation or during later differentiation. TRb1-knockout mice displayed only minor changes in opsin photopigment expression and normal electroretinogram responses, indicating that TRb2 and TRb1 are not functionally equivalent in cone differentiation. The biphasic expression patterns of TRb1 and TRb2 suggest versatile functions for thyroid hormone in retinal and non-neural ocular development. The specific expression of thyroid hormone receptor beta (Thrb) isoforms in retina tissue during development are profiled from RNA-seq data analysis.