Comparative study of Pax2 expression in glial cells in the retina and optic nerve of birds and mammals

Little is known about the expression of Pax2 in mature retina or optic nerve. Here we probed for the expression of Pax2 in late stages of embryonic development and in mature chick retina. We find two distinct Pax2 isoforms expressed by cells within the retina and optic nerve. Surprisingly, Müller glia in central regions of the retina express Pax2, and levels of expression are decreased with increasing distance from the nerve head. In Müller glia, the expression levels of Pax2 are increased by acute retinal damage or treatment with growth factors. At the optic nerve, Pax2 is expressed by peripapillary glia, at the junction of the neural retina and optic nerve head and by glia within the optic nerve. In addition, we assayed for Pax2 expression in glial cells in mammalian retinas. In mammalian retinas, unlike the case in chick retina, the Müller glia do not express Pax2. Pax2-expressing cells are found in the optic nerve and astrocytes within the mouse retina. By comparison, Pax2-positive cells are not found within the guinea pig retina; Pax2-expressing glia are confined to the optic nerve. In dog and monkey (Macaca fascicularis), Pax2 is expressed by astrocytes that are scattered across inner retinal layers and by numerous glia within the optic nerve. Interestingly, Pax2-positive glial cells are found at the peripheral edge of the dog retina, but only in older animals. We conclude that the expression of Pax2 in the vertebrate eye is restricted to retinal astrocytes, peripapillary glia, and glia within the optic nerve.