Adaptation memory in photoreceptors: different mechanisms in rods and cones.

Vertebrate rods and cones operate over a wide range of ambient illumination, which is provided by light adaptation mechanisms regulating the sensitivity and speed of the phototransduction cascade. Three calcium-sensitive feedback loops are well established in both rods and cones: acceleration of the quenching of a light-activated visual pigment and cGMP synthesis by guanylate cyclase, and increased affinity of ion channels for cGMP. Accumulating evidence suggests that the molecular mechanisms of light adaptation are more complex.

[Changes in the type and amount of bone collagens in chronic suppurative otitis media].

Objective: Comparative assessment of the collagen-tissue interaction in the bone tissue of the middle ear structures in patients with chronic suppurative otitis media (CSOM).

Material And Methods: A prospective study of 42 patients aged 16-60 years with CSOM admitted for reconstructive sanitizing surgery was performed. To study the collagen-tissue interaction, intraoperative samples of the bone tissue of the middle ear were used.

Magnetoreceptory Function of European Robin Retina: Electrophysiological and Morphological Non-Homogeneity.

The avian magnetic compass allows orientation during migration and is shown to function properly under short-wavelength but not long-wavelength visible light. Therefore, the magnetoreceptive system is assumed to be light- and wavelength-dependent and localized in the retina of the eye. Putative candidates for the role of primary magnetosensory molecules are the cryptochromes that are known to be expressed in the avian retina and must be able to interact with phototransduction proteins.

Phototransduction in Anuran Green Rods: Origins of Extra-Sensitivity.

Green rods (GRs) represent a unique type of photoreceptor to be found in the retinas of anuran amphibians. These cells harbor a cone-specific blue-sensitive visual pigment but exhibit morphology of the outer segment typical for classic red rods (RRs), which makes them a perspective model object for studying cone-rod transmutation. In the present study, we performed detailed electrophysiological examination of the light sensitivity, response kinetics and parameters of discrete and continuous dark noise in GRs of the two anuran species: cane toad and marsh frog.

Effect of the Expression of and Genes on the Metastatic Potential of Breast Cancer Cells.

Breast cancer (BC) is the leading cause of death from malignant neoplasms among women worldwide, and metastatic BC presents the biggest problems for treatment. Previously, it was shown that lower expression of and genes is associated with a higher risk of the formation of distant metastases in BC. In this work, we studied the change in phenotypical traits, as well as in the transcriptomic and proteomic profiles of BC cells as a result of the stable knockdown of and genes.