To characterize cell communication

To characterize cell communication and gap junctions of photoreceptor‐like cells, we selected specific synaptic vesicle protein Synaptophysin to label the synaptic connections between regeneratedphotoreceptor‐like cells and adjacent neurons.36 Immunofluorescenceassay showed that synaptophysin presented a multi‐layer distributionin the outer plexiform photoreceptor cells at the end and within theplexiform layer. These results suggest that the regenerated photoreceptor‐like cells express synaptophysin and form a synaptic neuralnetwork with the host retinal neurons to promote the reconstructionof optical path and the recovery of visual function.Furthermore, we found that in MNU model group the amplitudeof a wave decreased because of the damage of photoreceptor cells.The amplitudes of a‐ and b‐wave in Otx2 group were higher than inmodel group, but not reached the normal levels. These findings confirm that the transplanted cells integrated into the ONL are rod photoreceptors and form functional synaptic connection with adjacent neurons in the recipient retina to recover visual function.