scholarly journals Light-dependent Changes in Outer Segment Free-Ca2+ Concentration in Salamander Cone Photoreceptors

1999 ◽  
Vol 113 (2) ◽  
pp. 267-277 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.P. Sampath ◽  
H.R. Matthews ◽  
M.C. Cornwall ◽  
J. Bandarchi ◽  
G.L. Fain

Simultaneous measurements of photocurrent and outer segment Ca2+ were made from isolated salamander cone photoreceptors. While recording the photocurrent from the inner segment, which was drawn into a suction pipette, a laser spot confocal technique was employed to evoke fluorescence from the outer segment of a cone loaded with the Ca2+ indicator fluo-3. When a dark-adapted cone was exposed to the intense illumination of the laser, the circulating current was completely suppressed and fluo-3 fluorescence rapidly declined. In the more numerous red-sensitive cones this light-induced decay in fluo-3 fluorescence was best fitted as the sum of two decaying exponentials with time constants of 43 ± 2.4 and 640 ± 55 ms (mean ± SEM, n = 25) and unequal amplitudes: the faster component was 1.7-fold larger than the slower. In blue-sensitive cones, the decay in fluorescence was slower, with time constants of 140 ± 30 and 1,400 ± 300 ms, and nearly equal amplitudes. Calibration of fluo-3 fluorescence in situ from red-sensitive cones allowed the calculation of the free-Ca2+ concentration, yielding values of 410 ± 37 nM in the dark-adapted outer segment and 5.5 ± 2.4 nM after saturating illumination (mean ± SEM, n = 8). Photopigment bleaching by the laser resulted in a considerable reduction in light sensitivity and a maintained decrease in outer segment Ca2+ concentration. When the photopigment was regenerated by applying exogenous 11-cis-retinal, both the light sensitivity and fluo-3 fluorescence recovered rapidly to near dark-adapted levels. Regeneration of the photopigment allowed repeated measurements of fluo-3 fluorescence to be made from a single red-sensitive cone during adaptation to steady light over a range of intensities. These measurements demonstrated that the outer segment Ca2+ concentration declines in a graded manner during adaptation to background light, varying linearly with the magnitude of the circulating current.

2006 ◽  
Vol 32 (12) ◽  
pp. 2075-2079 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gonzalo Muñoz ◽  
César Albarrán-Diego ◽  
Hani F. Sakla ◽  
Jaime Javaloy ◽  
Jorge L. Alió

2019 ◽  
Vol 151 (11) ◽  
pp. 1287-1299 ◽  
Author(s):  
Norianne T. Ingram ◽  
Alapakkam P. Sampath ◽  
Gordon L. Fain

We describe the first extensive study of voltage-clamp current responses of cone photoreceptors in unlabeled, dark-adapted mouse retina using only the position and appearance of cone somata as a guide. Identification was confirmed from morphology after dye filling. Photocurrents recorded from wild-type mouse cones were biphasic with a fast cone component and a slower rod component. The rod component could be eliminated with dim background light and was not present in mouse lines lacking the rod transducin-α subunit (Gnat1−/−) or connexin 36 (Cx36−/−). Cones from Gnat1−/− or Cx36−/− mice had resting membrane potentials between −45 and −55 mV, peak photocurrents of 20–25 picoamps (pA) at a membrane potential Vm = −50 mV, sensitivities 60–70 times smaller than rods, and a total membrane capacitance two to four times greater than rods. The rate of activation (amplification constant) was largely independent of the brightness of the flash and was 1–2 s−2, less than half that of rods. The role of Ca2+-dependent transduction modulation was investigated by recording from cones in mice lacking rod transducin (Gnat1), recoverin, and/or the guanylyl-cyclase–activating proteins (GCAPs). In confirmation of previous results, responses of Gnat1−/−;Gcaps−/− cones and triple-mutant Gnat1−/−;Gcaps−/−;Rv−/− cones recovered more slowly both to light flashes and steps and were more sensitive than cones expressing the GCAPs. Cones from all four mouse lines showed significant recovery and escaped saturation even in bright background light. This recovery occurred too rapidly to be caused by pigment bleaching or metaII decay and appears to reflect some modulation of response inactivation in addition to those produced by recoverin and the GCAPs. Our experiments now make possible a more detailed understanding of the cellular physiology of mammalian cone photoreceptors and the role of conductances in the inner and outer segment in producing cone light responses.


Author(s):  
Gilad Allon ◽  
Irit Mann ◽  
Lital Remez ◽  
Elisabeth Sehn ◽  
Leah Rizel ◽  
...  

Abstract Mutations of the PRCD gene are associated with rod-cone degeneration in both dogs and humans. Prcd is expressed in the mouse eye as early as embryonic day 14. In the adult mouse retina PRCD is expressed in the outer segments of both rod and cone photoreceptors. Immunoelectron microscopy revealed that PRCD is located at the outer segment rim, and that it is highly concentrated at the base of the outer segment. Prcd-knockout mice present with progressive retinal degeneration, starting at 20 weeks of age and onwards. This process is reflected by a significant and progressive reduction of both scotopic and photopic electroretinographic responses, and by thinning of the retina, and specifically of the outer nuclear layer, indicating photoreceptor loss. Electron microscopy revealed severe damage to photoreceptor outer segments, which is associated with immigration of microglia cells to the Prcd-knockout retina, and accumulation of vesicles in the inter-photoreceptor space. Phagocytosis of photoreceptor outer segment discs by the retinal pigmented epithelium is severely reduced. Our data show that Prcd-knockout mice serve as a good model for retinal degeneration caused by PRCD mutations in humans. Our findings in these mice support the involvement of PRCD in outer segment disc formation of both rod and cone photoreceptors. Furthermore, they suggest a feedback mechanism which coordinates the rate of photoreceptor outer segment disc formation, shedding and phagocytosis. This study has important implications for understanding the function of PRCD in the retina, as well as for future development of treatment modalities for PRCD-deficiency in humans.


1988 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 203-213
Author(s):  
Yuki KUROISHI ◽  
Hiroshi OGASAWARA ◽  
Tomokazu TAKEUCHI ◽  
Yutaka TANAKA ◽  
Yoshiaki MIZUTA

1963 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 139 ◽  
Author(s):  
HR Jitts

Simultaneous measurements with two types of incubators were made on replicate samples both in the incubators and in situ in the ocean. Both incubators used sunlight and blue glass filters to simulate light conditions at depths in the ocean. The first gave measurements of column production 1.58 times those in situ. This was due to the fact that at depths greater than 20 m the incubator gave much higher results with no significant relation to those measured in situ. In the second incubator the accuracy of reproduction of oceanic light conditions was improved by reducing reflected light and using a balance-by-depth twin photometer system for determining the depths of sampling. The measurements of column production in the second incubator were 1.03 times the in situ values.


2000 ◽  
Vol 17 (6) ◽  
pp. 887-892 ◽  
Author(s):  
HANA JINDROVA ◽  
PETER B. DETWILER

In retinal rods, light exposure decreases the total outer segment content of both cGMP and cAMP by about 50%. The functional role of the light-evoked change in cAMP is not known. It is postulated to trigger changes in the phosphorylation state of phosducin, a phosphoprotein that is phosphorylated in the dark by cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA) and dephosphorylated by basal phosphatase activity when PKA is inhibited by the light-evoked drop in cAMP. In biochemical studies, dephosphorylated phosducin binds to free βγ dimer of transducin (Tβγ) and prevents the regeneration of heterotrimeric transducin by blocking the re-association of the βγ and α subunits. Phosducin's interaction with Tβγ is blocked when it is phosphorylated on a single residue by PKA. To evaluate the effect of the light-evoked fall in cAMP, functionally intact isolated lizard rod outer segments were dialyzed in whole-cell voltage clamp with a standard internal solution and electrical light responses were recorded with and without adding cAMP to the dialysis solution. Since the total outer segment content of cAMP in darkness is ∼5 μM, internal dialysis with solution containing a much higher concentration (100 μM) of cAMP (or 8-bromo-cAMP) will overcome the effects of a light-evoked decrease in its concentration by keeping cAMP-dependent processes fully activated. Neither cyclic nucleotide had any influence on the generation, light sensitivity, recovery, or background adaptation of the flash response. These results also argue against the participation of phosducin in the sequence of events that are responsible for these aspects of rod function. This does not exclude the possibility of phosducin being involved in adaptation caused by higher light levels than used in the present study, that is, bleaching adaptation, or in light-dependent processes other than phototransduction.


2013 ◽  
Vol 33 (45) ◽  
pp. 17763-17776 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. I. Korenbrot ◽  
M. Mehta ◽  
N. Tserentsoodol ◽  
J. H. Postlethwait ◽  
T. I. Rebrik

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