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Photoreceptor light adaptation is mediated by cytoplasmic calcium concentration

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Abstract

The vertebrate visual system can operate over a large range of light intensities. This is possible in part because the sensitivity of photoreceptors decreases approximately in inverse proportion to the background light intensity1–3. This process, called photoreceptor light adaptation, is known to be mediated by a diffusible intracellular messenger4–6, but the identity of the messenger is still unclear. There has been considerable speculation that decreased cytoplasmic Ca2+ concentration (Cai2+) may play a role in light adaptation7–11, and recent experiments in which Ca2+ buffer was incorporated into rod-cells10,11 have supported this notion. The extent of the contribution of calcium, however, remains unresolved. We now show that light-dependent changes in sensitivity in amphibian photoreceptors can be abolished by preventing movements of Ca2+ across the outer-segment plasma membrane. These experiments demonstrate that light adaptation in photoreceptors is mediated in cones primarily, and in rods perhaps exclusively, by changes in Cai2+.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Physiological Laboratory, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EG, UK

    H. R. Matthews, R. L. W. Murphy & T. D. Lamb

  2. Department of Ophthalmology, The Jules Stein Eye Institute, UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, California, 90024, USA

    G. L. Fain

Authors
  1. H. R. Matthews
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  2. R. L. W. Murphy
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  3. G. L. Fain
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  4. T. D. Lamb
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Matthews, H., Murphy, R., Fain, G. et al. Photoreceptor light adaptation is mediated by cytoplasmic calcium concentration. Nature 334, 67–69 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1038/334067a0

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