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GTPases in Biology II pp 267–290Cite as

Rhodopsin/G-Protein Interaction

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Part of the book series: Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology ((HEP,volume 108 / 2))

Abstract

Rhodopsin, the visual pigment of the rod cell, governs early steps of the visual process by its concerted interactions with the G-protein transducin, rhodopsin kinase, and arrestin. The precise interaction with transducin is crucial for single photon detection by rod cells. The rate of transducin turnover catalyzed by a single rhodopsin molecule in the dark is lower than 10−6 per second and increases to 103 after light activation. The visual receptor/G-protein system, designed for low noise-signal amplification, may operate near to the upper physical limit set to biological signal transduction. On the other hand, rhodopsin and transducin are fundamentally similar to other receptors and G-proteins, and understanding this specialized system may help to understand such systems in general. Studies of the visual system are supported by specific physical properties, as the activation by light, the colored receptor intermediates, and the variable membrane binding of the G-protein. Part of this chapter is dedicated to techniques of physical biochemistry and how to employ them in the study of rhodopsin/G-protein interaction. Some of the insights may also apply to the related systems. Other recent reviews deal with rhodopsin and transducin from different perspectives, including the role of rod outer segment structure (Liebman et al. 1987), molecular details of the interaction (Hamm 1991), structure and function of rhodopsin (Hargrave and McDowell 1992; Hargrave et al. 1993) and of seven-helix receptors in general (Hargrave 1991), molecular biology (Khorana 1992) and spectroscopy (Siebert 1992) of rhodopsin, and the role of transducin in the visual process (Hofmann and Kahlert 1992; Lamb and Pugh 1992).

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  1. K. P. Hofmann
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Baylor College of Medicine, Department of Medicine Cell Biology and Experimental Therapeutics, Houston VA Medical Center, Room 3C-385, 2002 Holcombe Boulevard, Houston, TX, 77030, USA

    Burton F. Dickey M.D.

  2. Department of Cell Biology, Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Medicine and Neurosciences, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX, 77030, USA

    Lutz Birnbaumer Ph.D.

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Hofmann, K.P. (1993). Rhodopsin/G-Protein Interaction. In: Dickey, B.F., Birnbaumer, L. (eds) GTPases in Biology II. Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology, vol 108 / 2. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-78345-6_17

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