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Physiological Studies of the Interaction Between Opsin and Chromophore in Rod and Cone Visual Pigments

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Retinoids

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 652))

Abstract

The visual pigment in vertebrate photoreceptors is a G protein-coupled receptor that consists of a protein, opsin, covalently attached to a chromophore, 11-cis-retinal. Activation of the visual pigment by light triggers a transduction cascade that produces experimentally measurable electrical responses in photoreceptors. The interactions between opsin and chromophore can be investigated with electrophysiologial recordings in intact amphibian and mouse rod and cone photoreceptor cells. Here we describe methods for substituting the native chromophore with various chromophore analogs to investigate how specific parts of the chromophore affect the signaling properties of the visual pigment and the function of photoreceptors. We also describe methods for genetically substituting the native rod opsin gene with cone opsins or with mutant rod opsins to investigate and compare their signaling properties. These methods are useful not only for understanding the relation between the properties of visual pigments and the function of photoreceptors but also for understanding the mechanisms by which mutations in rod opsin produce night blindness and other visual disorders.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences and Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA

    Vladimir J. Kefalov

  2. Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA

    M. Carter Cornwall

  3. Department of Physiological Science and Jules Stein Eye Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Gordon L. Fain

Authors
  1. Vladimir J. Kefalov
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  2. M. Carter Cornwall
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  3. Gordon L. Fain
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. David Geffen School of Medicine, Dept. Physiology, University of California, Los Angeles, Charles Young Dr. S. 650, Los Angeles, 90095-1751, California, USA

    Hui Sun

  2. , Jules Stein Eye Institute, UCLA School of Medicine, 100 Stein Plaza, BH-667, Los Angeles, 90095, California, USA

    Gabriel H. Travis

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Kefalov, V.J., Cornwall, M.C., Fain, G.L. (2010). Physiological Studies of the Interaction Between Opsin and Chromophore in Rod and Cone Visual Pigments. In: Sun, H., Travis, G. (eds) Retinoids. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 652. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-60327-325-1_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-60327-325-1_5

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  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, Totowa, NJ

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-60327-324-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-60327-325-1

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