scholarly journals Coordinated control of sensitivity by two splice variants of Gαo in retinal ON bipolar cells

2010 ◽  
Vol 136 (4) ◽  
pp. 443-454 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haruhisa Okawa ◽  
Johan Pahlberg ◽  
Fred Rieke ◽  
Lutz Birnbaumer ◽  
Alapakkam P. Sampath
Keyword(s):  
G Protein ◽  
Single Photon ◽  
Splice Variants ◽  
Light Response ◽  
Light Sensitivity ◽  
Bipolar Cells ◽  
Protein Activity ◽  
Α Subunit ◽  
Coordinated Action ◽  
Rod Bipolar Cells

The high sensitivity of scotopic vision depends on the efficient retinal processing of single photon responses generated by individual rod photoreceptors. At the first synapse in the mammalian retina, rod outputs are pooled by a rod “ON” bipolar cell, which uses a G-protein signaling cascade to enhance the fidelity of the single photon response under conditions where few rods absorb light. Here we show in mouse rod bipolar cells that both splice variants of the Go α subunit, Gαo1 and Gαo2, mediate light responses under the control of mGluR6 receptors, and their coordinated action is critical for maximizing sensitivity. We found that the light response of rod bipolar cells was primarily mediated by Gαo1, but the loss of Gαo2 caused a reduction in the light sensitivity. This reduced sensitivity was not attributable to the reduction in the total number of Go α subunits, or the altered balance of expression levels between the two splice variants. These results indicate that Gαo1 and Gαo2 both mediate a depolarizing light response in rod bipolar cells without occluding each other’s actions, suggesting they might act independently on a common effector. Thus, Gαo2 plays a role in improving the sensitivity of rod bipolar cells through its action with Gαo1. The coordinated action of two splice variants of a single Gα may represent a novel mechanism for the fine control of G-protein activity.

scholarly journals The Effect of PKCα on the Light Response of Rod Bipolar Cells in the Mouse Retina

2015 ◽  
Vol 56 (8) ◽  
pp. 4961 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei-Hong Xiong ◽  
Ji-Jie Pang ◽  
Mark E. Pennesi ◽  
Robert M. Duvoisin ◽  
Samuel M. Wu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Light Response ◽  
Bipolar Cells ◽  
Mouse Retina ◽  
Rod Bipolar Cells

Inhibitory Feedback Shapes Bipolar Cell Responses in the Rabbit Retina

2007 ◽  
Vol 98 (6) ◽  
pp. 3423-3435 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alyosha Molnar ◽  
Frank Werblin
Keyword(s):  
Bipolar Cell ◽  
Light Response ◽  
Bipolar Cells ◽  
Inhibitory Input ◽  
Rabbit Retina ◽  
Cell Responses ◽  
Inhibitory Feedback ◽  
Glycinergic Inhibition ◽  
Rod Bipolar Cells ◽  
Cone Bipolar Cells

Retinal bipolar cells can be divided into on and off types based on the polarity of their response to light. Bipolar activity is further shaped by inhibitory inputs, characterized here by the events that occur immediately after the onset of a light step: 1) in most off bipolar cells, excitatory current decreased, whereas inhibitory current increased. These currents reinforced each other, enhancing the light response. 2) In about half of the on cone bipolar cells, the excitatory current increased, whereas inhibitory current decreased, also reinforcing the light response. Both of these reinforcing interactions were mediated by glycinergic inhibition. 3) In the remaining on cone bipolar cells, excitation and inhibition both increased, but inhibition was delayed so that these cells responded transiently. 4) Finally, in rod bipolar cells, excitation and inhibition both increased so that inhibition suppressed excitation, reducing the light response at all time scales. The suppressive inhibition seen in on cone and rod bipolar cells was mediated by GABA. Thus morphologically diverse bipolar cells receive only four main types of inhibitory input, and the majority of “inhibitory” inputs actually serve to enhance excitation.

Optimization of Single-Photon Response Transmission at the Rod-to-Rod Bipolar Synapse

Physiology ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 279-286 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haruhisa Okawa ◽  
Alapakkam P. Sampath
Keyword(s):  
Light Absorption ◽  
Single Photon ◽  
Absolute Threshold ◽  
Bipolar Cells ◽  
Physiological Mechanisms ◽  
Rod Photoreceptors ◽  
Dim Light ◽  
Single Photon Response ◽  
Rod Bipolar Cells

Our ability to see in dim light is limited by the statistics of light absorption in rod photoreceptors and the faithful transmission of the light-evoked signals through the retina. This article reviews the physiological mechanisms at the synapse between rods and rod bipolar cells, the first relay in a pathway that mediates vision near absolute threshold.

Transmission of single photon signals through a binary synapse in the mammalian retina

2004 ◽  
Vol 21 (5) ◽  
pp. 693-702 ◽  
Author(s):  
AMY BERNTSON ◽  
ROBERT G. SMITH ◽  
W. ROWLAND TAYLOR
Keyword(s):  
Ganglion Cells ◽  
Single Photon ◽  
Bipolar Cells ◽  
Single Photons ◽  
Rod Photoreceptors ◽  
Neural Noise ◽  
Light Levels ◽  
Retinal Circuitry ◽  
Binary Event ◽  
Rod Bipolar Cells

At very low light levels the sensitivity of the visual system is determined by the efficiency with which single photons are captured, and the resulting signal transmitted from the rod photoreceptors through the retinal circuitry to the ganglion cells and on to the brain. Although the tiny electrical signals due to single photons have been observed in rod photoreceptors, little is known about how these signals are preserved during subsequent transmission to the optic nerve. We find that the synaptic currents elicited by single photons in mouse rod bipolar cells have a peak amplitude of 5–6 pA, and that about 20 rod photoreceptors converge upon each rod bipolar cell. The data indicates that the first synapse, between rod photoreceptors and rod bipolar cells, signals a binary event: the detection, or not, of a photon or photons in the connected rod photoreceptors. We present a simple model that demonstrates how a threshold nonlinearity during synaptic transfer allows transmission of the single photon signal, while rejecting the convergent neural noise from the 20 other rod photoreceptors feeding into this first synapse.

Identification of a G-protein in depolarizing rod bipolar cells

1993 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 473-478 ◽  
Author(s):  
Noga Vardi ◽  
Diane F. Matesic ◽  
David R. Manning ◽  
Paul A. Liebman ◽  
Peter Sterling
Keyword(s):  
Synaptic Transmission ◽  
G Protein ◽  
Glutamate Receptor ◽  
Mammalian Species ◽  
Bipolar Cells ◽  
Protein G ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Gated Channel ◽  
Phototransduction Cascade ◽  
Rod Bipolar Cells

AbstractSynaptic transmission from photoreceptors to depolarizing bipolar cells is mediated by the APB glutamate receptor. This receptor apparently is coupled to a G-protein which activates cGMP-phosphodiesterase to modulate cGMP levels and thus a cGMP-gated cation channel. We attempted to localize this system immunocytochemically using antibodies to various components of the rod phototransduction cascade, including Gt (transducin), phosphodiesterase, the cGMP-gated channel, and arrestin. All of these antibodies reacted strongly with rods, but none reacted with bipolar cells. Antibodies to a different G-protein, Go, reacted strongly with rod bipolar cells of three mammalian species (which are depolarizing and APB-sensitive). Also stained were subpopulations of cone bipolar cells but not the major depolarizing type in cat (b1). Go antibody also stained certain salamander bipolar cells. Thus, across a wide range of species, Go is present in retinal bipolar cells, and at least some of these are depolarizing and APB-sensitive.

scholarly journals mGluR6 deletion renders the TRPM1 channel in retina inactive

2012 ◽  
Vol 107 (3) ◽  
pp. 948-957 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ying Xu ◽  
Anuradha Dhingra ◽  
Marie E. Fina ◽  
Chieko Koike ◽  
Takahisa Furukawa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plasma Membrane ◽  
G Protein ◽  
Transient Receptor Potential ◽  
Metabotropic Glutamate Receptor ◽  
Receptor Potential ◽  
Bipolar Cells ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Protein Subunit ◽  
Transient Receptor Potential Melastatin ◽  
Rod Bipolar Cells

In darkness, glutamate released from photoreceptors activates the metabotropic glutamate receptor 6 (mGluR6) on retinal ON bipolar cells. This activates the G protein Go, which then closes transient receptor potential melastatin 1 (TRPM1) channels, leading to cells' hyperpolarization. It has been generally assumed that deleting mGluR6 would render the cascade inactive and the ON bipolar cells constitutively depolarized. Here we show that the rod bipolar cells in mGluR6-null mice were hyperpolarized. The slope conductance of the current-voltage curves and the current noise were smaller than in wild type. Furthermore, while in wild-type rod bipolar cells, TRPM1 could be activated by local application of capsaicin; in null cells, it did not. These results suggest that the TRPM1 channel in mGluR6-null rod bipolar cells is inactive. To explore the reason for this lack of activity, we tested if mGluR6 deletion affected expression of cascade components. Immunostaining for G protein subunit candidates Gαo, Gβ3, and Gγ13 showed no significant changes in their expression or distribution. Immunostaining for TRPM1 in the dendritic tips was greatly reduced, but the channel was still present in the soma and primary dendrites of mGluR6-null bipolar cells, where a certain fraction of TRPM1 appears to localize to the plasma membrane. Consequently, the lack of TRPM1 activity in the null retina is unlikely to be due to failure of the channels to localize to the plasma membrane. We speculate that, to be constitutively active, TRPM1 channels in ON bipolar cells have to be in a complex, or perhaps require an unidentified factor.

scholarly journals A Disruptive Mutation in Exon 3 of the GNAS Gene with Albright Hereditary Osteodystrophy, Normocalcemic Pseudohypoparathyroidism, and Selective Long Transcript Variant Gsα-L Deficiency

2007 ◽  
Vol 92 (5) ◽  
pp. 1764-1768 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susanne Thiele ◽  
Ralf Werner ◽  
Wiebke Ahrens ◽  
Ute Hoppe ◽  
Christine Marschke ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Protein Level ◽  
Splice Variants ◽  
Stop Codon ◽  
Erythrocyte Membranes ◽  
Protein Activity ◽  
Α Subunit ◽  
Biallelic Expression ◽  
Albright Hereditary Osteodystrophy ◽  
Gnas Gene ◽  
Type Ia

Abstract Objective: The GNAS gene encodes the α-subunit of stimulatory G proteins, which play a crucial role in intracellular signal transduction of peptide and neurotransmitter receptors. In addition to transcript variants that differ in their first exon due to different promoters, there are two long (Gsα-L) and two short (Gsα-S) splice variants, created by alternative splicing. Heterozygous inactivating maternally inherited mutations of GNAS lead to a phenotype in which Albright hereditary osteodystrophy is associated with pseudohypoparathyroidism type Ia. Methods and Results: The GNAS gene of a 10-yr-old girl with brachymetacarpia, mental retardation, normocalcemic pseudohypoparathyroidism, and hypothyroidism was investigated. We found a heterozygous insertion of an adenosine in exon 3 altering codon 85 and leading to a frame shift inducing a stop codon in exon 4. Molecular studies of cDNA from blood RNA demonstrated normal, biallelic expression of Gsα-S transcripts, whereas expression of Gsα-L transcripts from the maternal allele was reduced. Immunoblot analysis revealed a reduced Gsα-L protein level to about 50%, whereas the protein level of Gsα-S was unaltered. Furthermore, the Gsα protein activity in erythrocyte membranes was diminished to about 75% of normal. Both the reduced activity and the mutation were also found in the mother and the affected younger brother. Conclusion: This report demonstrates the first evidence for a pathogenic mutation in exon 3 of the GNAS gene. The mutation is associated with a phenotype of Albright hereditary osteodystrophy and pseudohypoparathyroidism type Ia due to selective deficiency of Gsα-L and a partial reduction of Gsα activity.

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