Retinal photoreceptor cells, rods and cones, convert photons of light into chemical and electrical signals as the first step of the visual transduction cascade. Although the chemical processes in the phototransduction system are very similar to each other in these photoreceptors, the light sensitivity and time resolution of the photoresponse in rods are functionally different than those in the photoresponses of cones. To systematically investigate how photoresponses are divergently regulated in rods and cones, we have developed a detailed mathematical model on the basis of the Hamer model. The current model successfully reconstructed light intensity-, ATP- and GTP-dependent changes in concentrations of phosphorylated visual pigments (VPs), activated transducins (Tr*s) and phosphodiesterases (PDEs) in rods and cones. In comparison to rods, the lower light sensitivity of cones was attributed not only to the lower affinity of activated VPs for Trs but also to the faster desensitization of the VPs. The assumption of an intermediate inactive state, MII, in the thermal decay of activated VPs was essential for inducing faster inactivation of VPs in rods, and possibly also in cones.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-23069-0 | DOI Listing |
Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci
January 2025
Biology and Biochemistry PhD Programs, Graduate Center, City University of New York, New York, New York, United States.
Purpose: Retinal development in the mouse continues past birth and provides a widely used model system in which photoreceptor formation can be observed and manipulated. This experimental paradigm provides opportunities for both gain-of-function and loss-of-function studies, which can be accomplished through in vivo or ex vivo plasmid delivery and electroporation. However, the cis-regulatory elements used to implement this approach have not been fully evaluated or optimized for the unique transcriptional environment of photoreceptors.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCells
January 2025
Department of Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Wake Forest University, Winston Salem, NC 27101, USA.
Glucose-sensing ChREBP and MondoA are transcriptional factors involved in the lipogenic, inflammatory, and insulin signaling pathways implicated in metabolic disorders; however, limited ocular studies have been conducted on these proteins. We aimed to investigate the potential role of ChREBP in the pathogenesis of diabetic retinopathy (DR). We used diabetic human and mouse retinal cryosections analyzed by immunohistochemistry.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRetina
January 2025
Department of Ophthalmology, Institute of Clinical Neurosciences of Southern Switzerland (INS), Ospedale Regionale di Lugano, Ente Ospedaliero Cantonale (EOC), Lugano, Switzerland.
Purpose: To assess if drusen volume can serve as structural clinical outcome marker in Malattia Leventinese (ML), and to evaluate whether cones or rods are more affected by its progression, using multimodal imaging and mesopic and two-color scotopic microperimetry.
Methods: This was a prospective monocentric cross-sectional cohort study of participants with genetically confirmed ML. Participants were classified according to morphology.
Acta Ophthalmol
January 2025
Harvard University, Boston, Cambridge, USA.
Purpose: There is evidence of the role of dark adaptation (DA) as a functional biomarker in age-related macular degeneration (AMD) where foveal cones are impacted during the initial stages of AMD. In this study we determine the repeatability of smartphone application (MOBILE DA) to evaluate the cone-mediated dark adaptation (DA) in healthy young adults.
Methods: Testing was done by placing a smartphone in front of the subject in a dark room.
Commun Biol
January 2025
Department of Ophthalmology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA.
Rod and cone photoreceptor cells are specialized neurons responsible for transforming the information reaching the eyes in the form of photons into the language of neuronal activity. Rods are the most prevalent photoreceptor type, primarily responsible for light detection under conditions of limited illumination. Here we demonstrate that human rods have a morphological organization unique among all described species, whereby the cell soma extends alongside the light-sensitive outer segment compartment to form a structure we have termed the "accessory inner segment.
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