scholarly journals Melanopsin phototransduction: beyond canonical cascades

2021 ◽  
Vol 224 (23) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ely Contreras ◽  
Alexis P. Nobleman ◽  
Phyllis R. Robinson ◽  
Tiffany M. Schmidt
Keyword(s):  
Visual Pigment ◽  
Transient Receptor Potential ◽  
Ganglion Cells ◽  
Receptor Potential ◽  
Small Subset ◽  
Retinal Ganglion ◽  
Visual Behaviors ◽  
Transient Receptor ◽  
Prevailing View ◽  
Phototransduction Cascade

ABSTRACT Melanopsin is a visual pigment that is expressed in a small subset of intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCs). It is involved in regulating non-image forming visual behaviors, such as circadian photoentrainment and the pupillary light reflex, while also playing a role in many aspects of image-forming vision, such as contrast sensitivity. Melanopsin was initially discovered in the melanophores of the skin of the frog Xenopus, and subsequently found in a subset of ganglion cells in rat, mouse and primate retinas. ipRGCs were initially thought to be a single retinal ganglion cell population, and melanopsin was thought to activate a single, invertebrate-like Gq/transient receptor potential canonical (TRPC)-based phototransduction cascade within these cells. However, in the 20 years since the discovery of melanopsin, our knowledge of this visual pigment and ipRGCs has expanded dramatically. Six ipRGC subtypes have now been identified in the mouse, each with unique morphological, physiological and functional properties. Multiple subtypes have also been identified in other species, suggesting that this cell type diversity is a general feature of the ipRGC system. This diversity has led to a renewed interest in melanopsin phototransduction that may not follow the canonical Gq/TRPC cascade in the mouse or in the plethora of other organisms that express the melanopsin photopigment. In this Review, we discuss recent findings and discoveries that have challenged the prevailing view of melanopsin phototransduction as a single pathway that influences solely non-image forming functions.

scholarly journals Structural and Biological Basis for Proprioception

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
José A. Vega ◽  
Juan Cobo
Keyword(s):  
Transient Receptor Potential ◽  
Neurological Diseases ◽  
Receptor Potential ◽  
Mechanical Stretch ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Small Subset ◽  
Transient Receptor Potential Vanilloid ◽  
Golgi Tendon Organs ◽  
Tendon Organs ◽  
Transient Receptor

The proprioception is the sense of positioning and movement. It is mediate by proprioceptors, a small subset of mechanosensory neurons localized in the dorsal root ganglia that convey information about the stretch and tension of muscles, tendons, and joints. These neurons supply of afferent innervation to specialized sensory organs in muscles (muscle spindles) and tendons (Golgi tendon organs). Thereafter, the information originated in the proprioceptors travels throughout two main nerve pathways reaching the central nervous system at the level of the spinal cord and the cerebellum (unconscious) and the cerebral cortex (conscious) for processing. On the other hand, since the stimuli for proprioceptors are mechanical (stretch, tension) proprioception can be regarded as a modality of mechanosensitivity and the putative mechanotransducers proprioceptors begins to be known now. The mechanogated ion channels acid-sensing ion channel 2 (ASIC2), transient receptor potential vanilloid 4 (TRPV4) and PIEZO2 are among candidates. Impairment or poor proprioception is proper of aging and some neurological diseases. Future research should focus on treating these defects. This chapter intends provide a comprehensive update an overview of the anatomical, structural and molecular basis of proprioception as well as of the main causes of proprioception impairment, including aging, and possible treatments.

scholarly journals Different Activity Patterns in Retinal Ganglion Cells of TRPM1 and mGluR6 Knockout Mice

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haruki Takeuchi ◽  
Sho Horie ◽  
Satoru Moritoh ◽  
Hiroki Matsushima ◽  
Tesshu Hori ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Retinal Ganglion Cells ◽  
Transient Receptor Potential ◽  
Metabotropic Glutamate Receptor ◽  
Ganglion Cells ◽  
Receptor Potential ◽  
Amacrine Cells ◽  
Bipolar Cells ◽  
Retinal Ganglion ◽  
Essential Components ◽  
Spontaneous Oscillations

TRPM1, the first member of the melanoma-related transient receptor potential (TRPM) subfamily, is the visual transduction channel downstream of metabotropic glutamate receptor 6 (mGluR6) on retinal ON bipolar cells (BCs). Human TRPM1 mutations are associated with congenital stationary night blindness (CSNB). In both TRPM1 and mGluR6 KO mouse retinas, OFF but not ON BCs respond to light stimulation. Here we report an unexpected difference between TRPM1 knockout (KO) and mGluR6 KO mouse retinas. We used a multielectrode array (MEA) to record spiking in retinal ganglion cells (RGCs). We found spontaneous oscillations in TRPM1 KO retinas, but not in mGluR6 KO retinas. We performed a structural analysis on the synaptic terminals of rod ON BCs. Intriguingly, rod ON BC terminals were significantly smaller in TRPM1 KO retinas than in mGluR6 KO retinas. These data suggest that a deficiency of TRPM1, but not of mGluR6, in rod ON bipolar cells may affect synaptic terminal maturation. We speculate that impaired signaling between rod BCs and AII amacrine cells (ACs) leads to spontaneous oscillations. TRPM1 and mGluR6 are both essential components in the signaling pathway from photoreceptors to ON BC dendrites, yet they differ in their effects on the BC terminal and postsynaptic circuitry.

Inositol lipids and TRPC channel activation

2007 ◽  
Vol 74 ◽  
pp. 37-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
James W. Putney
Keyword(s):  
Plasma Membrane ◽  
Phospholipase C ◽  
Transient Receptor Potential ◽  
Calcium Signalling ◽  
Receptor Potential ◽  
Breakdown Product ◽  
Channel Activation ◽  
Inositol Lipids ◽  
Transient Receptor ◽  
Secondary Mechanism

The original hypothesis put forth by Bob Michell in his seminal 1975 review held that inositol lipid breakdown was involved in the activation of plasma membrane calcium channels or ‘gates’. Subsequently, it was demonstrated that while the interposition of inositol lipid breakdown upstream of calcium signalling was correct, it was predominantly the release of Ca2+ that was activated, through the formation of Ins(1,4,5)P3. Ca2+ entry across the plasma membrane involved a secondary mechanism signalled in an unknown manner by depletion of intracellular Ca2+ stores. In recent years, however, additional non-store-operated mechanisms for Ca2+ entry have emerged. In many instances, these pathways involve homologues of the Drosophila trp (transient receptor potential) gene. In mammalian systems there are seven members of the TRP superfamily, designated TRPC1–TRPC7, which appear to be reasonably close structural and functional homologues of Drosophila TRP. Although these channels can sometimes function as store-operated channels, in the majority of instances they function as channels more directly linked to phospholipase C activity. Three members of this family, TRPC3, 6 and 7, are activated by the phosphoinositide breakdown product, diacylglycerol. Two others, TRPC4 and 5, are also activated as a consequence of phospholipase C activity, although the precise substrate or product molecules involved are still unclear. Thus the TRPCs represent a family of ion channels that are directly activated by inositol lipid breakdown, confirming Bob Michell's original prediction 30 years ago.

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