Co-expression of murine opsins facilitates identifying the site of cone adaptation

Vis Neurosci. 2002 Jul-Aug;19(4):389-93. doi: 10.1017/s0952523802194016.

Abstract

Murine cones contain two opsins in the same cone, one ultraviolet (UV) and the other middle-wavelength sensitive (M). A long-wavelength flash only affecting M-opsin suppresses the cone electroretinogram (ERG) produced by light absorption of UV-cone opsin raising the hypothesis that activation of M-cone opsin suppresses UV-cone opsin responses in the same cone. Here we show that pharmacologic blockade of synaptic transmission in the superfused murine retina, which eliminates interaction from second-order neurons, fails to prevent suppression of the UV-opsin driven pathway by long-wavelength stimuli. This proves that the antagonism must be occurring in the same cone, co-expressing both opsins. Our results show that UV-opsin suppression successively ceases in presence of the M-opsin activating background light, which implies that cone light adaptation is controlled at the opsin stage, before activation of transducin. It also reveals the time course of a transient desensitization of cones due to post-opsin factors in the transduction cascade.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adaptation, Ocular / physiology*
  • Animals
  • Light*
  • Mice
  • Retinal Cone Photoreceptor Cells / physiology*
  • Retinal Cone Photoreceptor Cells / radiation effects*
  • Rod Opsins / metabolism*
  • Ultraviolet Rays*

Substances

  • Rod Opsins