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Reviews of Physiology, Biochemistry and Pharmacology pp 101–121Cite as

The vertebrate phototransduction cascade: amplification and termination mechanisms

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Part of the book series: Reviews of Physiology, Biochemistry and Pharmacology ((REVIEWS,volume 154))

Abstract

The biochemical cascade which transduces light into a neuronal signal in retinal photoreceptors is a heterotrimeric GTP-binding protein (G protein) signaling pathway called phototransduction. Works from psychophysicists, electrophysiologists, biochemists, and geneticists over several decades have come together to shape our understanding of how photon absorption leads to photoreceptor membrane hyperpolarization. The insights of phototransduction provide the foundation for a mechanistic account of signaling from many other G protein-coupled receptors (GPCR) found throughout nature. The application of reverse genetic techniques has strengthened many historic findings and helped to describe this pathway at greater molecular details. However, many important questions remain to be answered.

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Abbreviations

AFM:

Atomic force microscopy

Arr−/− :

Homozygous arrestin knockout

BAPTA:

1,2-bis(o-aminophenoxy)ethane-N,N,N′,N′-tetraacetic acid

cGMP:

3′,5′ Cyclic guanosine monophosphate

CNBD:

Cyclic nucleotide binding domain

CNG:

Cyclic nucleotide-gated

DEP:

Disheveled, EGL-10, Pleckstrin

ERG:

Electroretinography

EM:

Electron microscopy

GDP:

Guanosine diphosphate

GMP:

Guanosine monophosphate

GTP:

Guanosine triphosphate

GPCR:

G protein-coupled receptor

GC:

Guanylate cyclase

GCAP:

Guanylate cyclase-activating protein

GCAP−/− :

Homozygous GCAP knockout

GAP:

GTPase-accelerating protein

GRK:

G protein-coupled receptor kinase

GGL:

G protein γ-like

GTPγS:

Guanosine-5′-(γ-thio)-triphosphate

K m :

Michaelis–Menten constant

MUV:

Mouse ultraviolet visual pigment

NCKX:

Na+/Ca2+,K+ exchanger

PDE:

Phosphodiesterase

P*:

Activated phosphodiesterase

R:

Rhodopsin

R*:

Metarhodopsin II (activated form of rhodopsin)

RCSB:

Research Collaboratory for Structural Bioinformatics

RK−/− :

Homozygous rhodopsin kinase knockout

Rv−/− :

Recoverin knockout

Rho+/− :

Heterozygous rhodopsin knockout

R9AP:

RGS9 anchoring protein

RGS:

Regulator of G protein signaling

RNA:

Ribonucleic acid

SB:

Schiff base

SW:

Switch region

T:

Heterotrimeric transducin

T*:

Activated transducin

τD :

Dominant time constant of recovery

τrec :

Recovery constant in dim flash response

V max :

Maximal rate of an enzymatic reaction

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  1. Department of Biochemistry, Virginia Commonwealth University, 1101 E. Marshall Street, Rm 2-032, 23298-0614, Richmond, VA, USA

    C. K. Chen

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Chen, C.K. (2005). The vertebrate phototransduction cascade: amplification and termination mechanisms. In: Reviews of Physiology, Biochemistry and Pharmacology. Reviews of Physiology, Biochemistry and Pharmacology, vol 154. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10254-005-0004-0

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