Comparative electrophysiology of retinal Müller glial cells-A survey on vertebrate species

Muller cells are the dominant macroglial cells in the retina of all vertebrates. They fulfill a variety of functions important for retinal physiology, among them spatial buffering of K+ ions and uptake of glutamate and other neurotransmitters. To this end, Muller cells express inwardly rectifying K+ channels and electrogenic glutamate transporters. Moreover, a lot of voltage- and ligand-gated ion channels, aquaporin water channels, and electrogenic transporters are expressed in Muller cells, some of them in a species-specific manner. For example, voltage-dependent Na+ channels are found exclusively in some but not all mammalian species. Whereas a lot of data exist from amphibians and mammals, the results from other vertebrates are sparse. It is the aim of this review to present a survey on Muller cell electrophysiology covering all classes of vertebrates. The focus is on functional studies, mainly performed using the whole-cell patch-clamp technique. However, data about the expression of membrane channels and transporters from immunohistochemistry are also included. Possible functional roles of membrane channels and transporters are discussed. Obviously, electrophysiological properties involved in the main functions of Muller cells developed early in vertebrate evolution. GLIA 2017;65:533-568.