Photoreceptors at a glance
Open accessAbstract
Retinal photoreceptor cells contain a specialized outer segment (OS) compartment that functions in the capture of light and its conversion into electrical signals in a process known as phototransduction. In rods, photoisomerization of 11-cis to all-trans retinal within rhodopsin triggers a biochemical cascade culminating in the closure of cGMP-gated channels and hyperpolarization of the cell. Biochemical reactions return the cell to its ‘dark state’ and the visual cycle converts all-trans retinal back to 11-cis retinal for rhodopsin regeneration. OS are continuously renewed, with aged membrane removed at the distal end by phagocytosis and new membrane added at the proximal end through OS disk morphogenesis linked to protein trafficking. The molecular basis for disk morphogenesis remains to be defined in detail although several models have been proposed, and molecular mechanisms underlying protein trafficking are under active investigation. The aim of this Cell Science at a Glance article and the accompanying poster is to highlight our current understanding of photoreceptor structure, phototransduction, the visual cycle, OS renewal, protein trafficking and retinal degenerative diseases.
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The visual pigments in rods and cones are rhodopsin and iodopsin, respectively.
“The visual pigments in rods and cones are rhodopsin (RHO) and iodopsin, respectively.”
From The Role of Vitamin A in Retinal Diseases (2022) · cites this paper as [53]
Cites
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“High levels of bisretinoids within lipofuscin deposits are found in individuals with Stargardt macular degeneration linked to mutations in the gene encoding ABCA4 as well as in Abca4-knockout mice (Allikmets et al., 1997; Mata et al., 2000; Molday and Zhang, 2010; Sparrow et al., 2012).”
BackgroundThe renewal of photoreceptor cell outer segments
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“OS are rapidly renewed to ensure maximum photosensitivity, which requires 10 days in mice, rats and Xenopus laevis (Besharse et al., 1977; Young, 1967), but 6 weeks in Rana pipiens.”
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“…that facilitates the clearance of retinoids from disk membranes (Illing et al., 1997; Molday et al., 2009; Quazi and Molday, 2014; Sun et al., 1999; Weng et al., 1999), and members of the guanylate cyclase family GC-1 and GC-2 (also known as GUCY2D and GUCY2F respectively) that catalyze the…”
BackgroundRhodopsin dimers in native disc membranes
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“Retinal can diffuse from photoreceptor OS to the IS and RPE cells.”
BackgroundInfluentialThe bisretinoids of retinal pigment epithelium
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“This occurs through a series of biochemical reactions known as the visual or retinoid cycle, which take place in both rod OS and RPE cells (Kiser et al., 2014; Saari, 2012).”
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Self-citationABCA4 is an N-retinylidene-phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylethanolamine importer
Quazi, F., Lenevich, S., & Molday, R. S. (2012) · Nature Communications · doi:10.1038/ncomms1927 · Cited by 276 · see citing works
Self-citationThree-dimensional architecture of murine rod outer segments determined by cryoelectron tomography
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“High levels of bisretinoids within lipofuscin deposits are found in individuals with Stargardt macular degeneration linked to mutations in the gene encoding ABCA4 as well as in Abca4-knockout mice (Allikmets et al., 1997; Mata et al., 2000; Molday and Zhang, 2010; Sparrow et al., 2012).”
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The Argus® II Retinal Prosthesis System
Luo, Y. H.-L., & da Cruz, L. (2016) · Progress in Retinal and Eye Research · doi:10.1016/j.preteyeres.2015.09.003 · Cited by 351 · see citing works
Photoreceptor Cilia and Retinal Ciliopathies
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The Role of Vitamin A in Retinal Diseases
Sajovic, J., Meglič, A., Glavač, D., Markelj, Š., Hawlina, M., & Fakin, A. (2022) · International Journal of Molecular Sciences · doi:10.3390/ijms23031014 · Cited by 109 · see citing works
Structure and function of ABCA4 and its role in the visual cycle and Stargardt macular degeneration
Molday, R. S., Garces, F. A., Scortecci, J. F., & Molday, L. L. (2022) · Progress in Retinal and Eye Research · doi:10.1016/j.preteyeres.2021.101036 · Cited by 107 · see citing works
Self-citationAdvances in ophthalmic optogenetics: approaches and applications
Prosseda, P. P., Tran, M., Kowal, T., Wang, B., & Sun, Y. (2022) · Biomolecules · doi:10.3390/biom12020269 · Cited by 41 · see citing works
Interphotoreceptor Retinoid-Binding Protein (IRBP) in Retinal Health and Disease
Zeng, S., Zhang, T., Madigan, M. C., Fernando, N., Aggio-Bruce, R., Zhou, F., Pierce, M., Chen, Y., Huang, L., Natoli, R., et al. (2020) · Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fncel.2020.577935 · Cited by 37 · see citing works
“Photolysis of 11-cis-retinal is the only reaction that converts light signals into electrical signals in vertebrate photoreceptors (Molday and Moritz, 2015).”
BackgroundThe argus ii retinal prosthesis system
Bloch, E., & da Cruz, L. (2020) · Prosthesis · doi:10.5772/intechopen.84947 · Cited by 31 · see citing works
- Authors
- Molday, R. S., & Moritz, O. L.
- Affiliations
- University of British Columbia (CA)
- Corresponding author
- Molday, Robert S.
- Venue
- Journal of Cell Science
- Publisher
- The Company of Biologists
- Published
- 2015-11-15
- Volume
- 128
- Issue
- 22
- Pages
- 4039-4045
- ISSN
- 0021-9533 (ISSN-L)
- 1477-9137
- PMC
- PMC4712787
- OpenAlex
- W2206027413
- Cited by
- 235
- References
- 14
- Citations by year
- 2026: 22 · 2025: 29 · 2024: 31 · 2023: 25 · 2022: 27 · 2021: 39 · 2020: 26 · 2019: 14 · 2018: 8 · 2017: 9 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 1
- FWCI
- 0.68
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Journal of Cell Science (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Canadian Institutes of Health Research (106667_1, CIHR RMF-92101, MOP-64400)
- National Eye Institute (EY02422, R01EY002422)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Retinal Development and Disorders
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Photoreceptor and optogenetics research
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cell Biology › Cellular transport and secretion
- Keywords
- retinal photoreceptors, photoreceptor outer segments, phototransduction, rhodopsin, cGMP-gated channels, visual cycle, rhodopsin regeneration, phagocytosis, protein trafficking, retinal degeneration
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Humans, Retinal Degeneration, Retinal Rod Photoreceptor Cells, Protein Transport, Light Signal Transduction
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