Neural extracellular matrix regulates visual sensory motor integration

Visual processing depends on sensitive and balanced synaptic neurotransmission. Extracellular matrix proteins in the environment of cells are key modulators in synaptogenesis and synaptic plasticity. In the present study, we provide evidence that the combined loss of the four extracellular matrix components brevican, neurocan, tenascin-C and tenascin-R in quadruple knockout mice leads to severe retinal dysfunction and diminished visual motion processing in vivo. Remarkably, impaired visual motion processing was accompanied by a developmental loss of cholinergic direction-selective starburst amacrine cells. Additionally, we noted imbalance of inhibitory and excitatory synaptic signaling in the quadruple knockout retina. Collectively, the study offers novel insights into the functional importance of four key extracellular matrix proteins for retinal function, visual motion processing and synaptic signaling. Overall design: Our dataset includes the expression data obtained from adult dissected Bcan, Ncan, Tnc and Tnr (quadruple) knockout and wildtype mouse retinae. In total, 8 retina samples from 4 control wildtype and 4 quadruple knockout mice were analyzed.