Non-visual Opsins and Novel Photo-Detectors in the Vertebrate Inner Retina Mediate Light Responses Within the Blue Spectrum Region.

Non-visual Opsins and Novel Photo-Detectors in the Vertebrate Inner Retina Mediate Light Responses Within the Blue Spectrum Region. Cell Mol Neurobiol. 2020 Nov 24;: Authors: Guido ME, Marchese NA, Rios MN, Morera LP, Diaz NM, Garbarino-Pico E, Contin MA Abstract In recent decades, a number of novel non-visual opsin photopigments belonging to the family of G protein- coupled receptors, likely involved in a number of non-image-forming processes, have been identified and characterized in cells of the inner retina of vertebrates. It is now known that the vertebrate retina is composed of visual photoreceptor cones and rods responsible for diurnal/color and nocturnal/black and white vision, and cells like the intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCs) and photosensitive horizontal cells in the inner retina, both detecting blue light and expressing the photopigment melanopsin (Opn4). Remarkably, these non-visual photopigments can continue to operate even in the absence of vision under retinal degeneration. Moreover, inner retinal neurons and Müller glial cells have been shown to express other photopigments such as the photoisomerase retinal G protein-coupled receptor (RGR), encephalopsin (Opn3), and neuropsin (Opn5), all able to detect blue/violet light and implicated in chromophore recycling, retinal clock synchronization, neuron-to-glia communication, and other activities. The discovery of these new photopigments in th...
Source: Cellular and Molecular Neurobiology - Category: Cytology Authors: Tags: Cell Mol Neurobiol Source Type: research