Search results for "Photoreceptor cell"
showing 10 items of 111 documents
Differential Distribution of Harmonin Isoforms and Their Possible Role in Usher-1 Protein Complexes in Mammalian Photoreceptor Cells
2003
PURPOSE. Human Usher syndrome is the most common form of combined deafness and blindness. Usher type I (USH1), the most severe form, is characterized by profound congenital deafness, constant vestibular dysfunction, and prepubertal onset retinitis pigmentosa. Previous studies have shown that the USH1-proteins myosin VIIa, harmonin, and cadherin 23 interact and form a functional network during hair cell differentiation in the inner ear. The purpose of the present study was to analyze the molecular and cellular functions of these USH1 proteins in the mammalian retina. METHODS. Antibodies to USH1 proteins were generated and used in Western blot analysis of subcellular photoreceptor fractions a…
Centrins in retinal photoreceptor cells: regulators in the connecting cilium.
2008
Changes in the intracellular Ca2+ concentration regulate the visual signal transduction cascade directly or more often indirectly through Ca2+-binding proteins. Here we focus on centrins, which are members of a highly conserved subgroup of the EF-hand superfamily of Ca2+-binding proteins in photoreceptor cells of the vertebrate retina. Centrins are commonly associated with centrosome-related structures. In mammalian retinal photoreceptor cells, four centrin isoforms are expressed as prominent components in the connecting cilium linking the light-sensitive outer segment compartment with the metabolically active inner segment compartment. Our data indicate that Ca2+-activated centrin isoforms…
Association of Whirlin with Cav1.3 (α1D) Channels in Photoreceptors, Defining a Novel Member of the Usher Protein Network
2010
Contains fulltext : 88383.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Closed access) PURPOSE: Usher syndrome is the most common form of hereditary deaf-blindness. It is both clinically and genetically heterogeneous. The USH2D protein whirlin interacts via its PDZ domains with other Usher-associated proteins containing a C-terminal type I PDZ-binding motif. These proteins co-localize with whirlin at the region of the connecting cilium and at the synapse of photoreceptor cells. This study was undertaken to identify novel, Usher syndrome-associated, interacting partners of whirlin and thereby obtain more insights into the function of whirlin. METHODS: The database of ciliary proteins was searched for proteins…
Usher syndrome: molecular links of pathogenesis, proteins and pathways.
2006
Contains fulltext : 50437.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Closed access) Usher syndrome is the most common form of deaf-blindness. The syndrome is both clinically and genetically heterogeneous, and to date, eight causative genes have been identified. The proteins encoded by these genes are part of a dynamic protein complex that is present in hair cells of the inner ear and in photoreceptor cells of the retina. The localization of the Usher proteins and the phenotype in animal models indicate that the Usher protein complex is essential in the morphogenesis of the stereocilia bundle in hair cells and in the calycal processes of photoreceptor cells. In addition, the Usher proteins are important in…
Morphological studies in canine (Dalmatian) neuronal ceroid-lipofuscinosis.
1988
Dalmatian dogs may develop a neuronal or generalized ceroid-lipofuscinosis (NCL) which strongly resembles that seen in English setters, especially as to the ultrastructural changes and ubiquity of the stored lipopigments and the retinal pathology, while differing clinically from the disorder of English setters in that the disease has a longer course of up to 5 or 6 yr. Clinical onset is at about age 6 months; however, an unequivocal morphological diagnosis is possible between the 4th and 5th month of life in biopsied skin. Detailed data of additional investigations are in progress and are awaiting later publication. Thus, NCL in the Dalmatian dog, though not yet as thoroughly investigated a…
The cGMP-gated channel of the rod photoreceptor — a new type of channel structure?
1990
Recents findings from Numa's laboratory reveal that there might exist a wider variety in channel protein structure than originally anticipated. Recently, the cloning has been reported of the first cGMP-gated ion channel, the vertebrate rod photoreceptor which is activated by cGMP acting from the inside of the rod outer segment membrane
Deletion of myosin VI causes slow retinal optic neuropathy and age-related macular degeneration (AMD)-relevant retinal phenotype
2015
The unconventional myosin VI, a member of the actin-based motor protein family of myosins, is expressed in the retina. Its deletion was previously shown to reduce amplitudes of the a- and b-waves of the electroretinogram. Analyzing wild-type and myosin VI-deficient Snell’s Waltzer mice in more detail, the expression pattern of myosin VI in retinal pigment epithelium, outer limiting membrane, and outer plexiform layer could be linked with differential progressing ocular deficits. These encompassed reduced a-waves and b-waves and disturbed oscillatory potentials in the electroretinogram, photoreceptor cell death, retinal microglia infiltration, and formation of basal laminar deposits. A pheno…
Analysis of the human a-wave ERG component
2006
The a-wave is one of the main issues of research in the field of ocular electrophysiology, since it is strictly connected with early photoreceptoral activities. The present study proposes mathematical methods that analyse this component in human subjects, and supports experimental evidence relating to possible correlations among the responses of photoreceptoral units under a light stimulus. The investigation is organized in two parts: the first part concerns the onset and the initial slope, up to the first minimum (about 10-15 ms), the second part deals with the main portion of the wave, up to about 30 ms. In both cases, the a-waves, recorded at various levels of luminance, have been fitted…
Calcium-Dependent Assembly of Centrin-G-Protein Complex in Photoreceptor Cells
2002
Photoexcitation of rhodopsin activates a heterotrimeric G-protein cascade leading to cyclic GMP hydrolysis in vertebrate photoreceptors. Light-induced exchanges of the visual G-protein transducin between the outer and inner segment of rod photoreceptors occur through the narrow connecting cilium. Here we demonstrate that transducin colocalizes with the Ca(2+)-binding protein centrin 1 in a specific domain of this cilium. Coimmunoprecipitation, centrifugation, centrin overlay, size exclusion chromatography, and kinetic light-scattering experiments indicate that Ca(2+)-activated centrin 1 binds with high affinity and specificity to transducin. The assembly of centrin-G-protein complex is medi…