Visual pigment: G-protein-coupled receptor for light signals
Open accessAbstract
The visual pigment present in photoreceptor cells is a prototypical G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) that receives a light signal from the outer environment using a light-absorbing chromophore, 11-cis-retinal. Through cis-trans isomerization of the chromophore, light energy is transduced into chemical free energy, which is in turn utilized for conformational changes in the protein to activate the retinal G-protein. In combination with site-directed mutagenesis, various spectroscopic and biochemical studies identified functional residues responsible for chromophore binding, color regulation, intramolecular signal transduction and G-protein coupling. Extensive studies reveal that these residues are localized into specific domains of visual pigments, suggesting a highly manipulated molecular architecture in visual pigments. In addition to the recent findings on dysfunctional mutations in patients with retinitis pigmentosa or congenital night blindness, the mechanism of intramolecular signal transduction in visual pigments and their evolutionary relationship are discussed.
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- Authors
- Shichida, Y., & Imai, H.
- Affiliations
- Kyoto University (JP)
- ORCID
- Venue
- Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences (CMLS)
- Published
- 1998-12-01
- Volume
- 54
- Issue
- 12
- Pages
- 1299-1315
- ISSN
- 1420-682X (ISSN-L)
- 1420-9071
- PMC
- PMC11147415
- OpenAlex
- W1996259278
- Cited by
- 242
- References
- 3
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 12 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 8 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 8 · 2018: 6 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 8 · 2015: 7 · 2014: 14 · 2013: 9 · 2012: 16
- FWCI
- 2.24
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Licence
- www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
- Locations
- Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Photoreceptor and optogenetics research
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Receptor Mechanisms and Signaling
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Retinal Development and Disorders
- Keywords
- visual pigments, rhodopsin, G protein-coupled receptors, 11-cis-retinal, cis-trans isomerization, phototransduction, chromophore binding, color vision, intramolecular signal transduction, G protein coupling, retinitis pigmentosa, site-directed mutagenesis, functional residues, molecular architecture
- MeSH terms
- Amino Acid Sequence, Animals, Color Perception, Humans, Light, Molecular Sequence Data, Photoreceptor Cells, Receptors, Cell Surface, Retinal Pigments, Signal Transduction, Evolution, Molecular, GTP-Binding Proteins
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