Direct retino-iridal projections and intrinsic iris contraction mediate the pupillary light reflex in early vertebrates

Abstract

The pupillary light reflex (PLR) adapts the amount of light reaching the retina, protecting it and improving image formation. Two PLR mechanisms have been described in vertebrates. First, the pretectum receives retinal inputs and projects to the Edinger-Westphal nucleus (EWN), which targets the ciliary ganglion through the oculomotor nerve (nIII). Postganglionic fibers enter the eye-globe, travelling to the iris sphincter muscle. Additionally, some vertebrates exhibit an iris-intrinsic PLR mechanism mediated by sphincter muscle cells that express melanopsin inducing muscle contraction. Given the high degree of conservation of the lamprey visual system, we investigated the mechanisms underlying the PLR to shed light onto their evolutionary origins. Recently, a PLR mediated by melanopsin was demonstrated in lampreys, suggested to be brain mediated. Remarkably, we found that PLR is instead mediated by direct retino-iridal cholinergic projections, a mechanism not demonstrated before, although suggested to be present in mice. This retina-mediated PLR acts synergistically with the iris-intrinsic mechanism mediated by melanopsin, which has contribution of gap junctions, as in other vertebrates. In contrast, we show that lampreys lack the brain-mediated PLR. Our results suggest that two eye-intrinsic PLR mechanisms were present in early vertebrate evolution, whereas the brain-mediated PLR has a more recent origin.