Addition of human melanopsin renders mammalian cells photoresponsive

Z. Melyan, E. E. Tarttelin, J. Bellingham, R. J. Lucas () and M. W. Hankins ()
Additional contact information
Z. Melyan: Imperial College London
E. E. Tarttelin: Imperial College London
J. Bellingham: University of Manchester
R. J. Lucas: University of Manchester
M. W. Hankins: Imperial College London

Nature, 2005, vol. 433, issue 7027, 741-745

Abstract: Rods and cones... and these The recent discovery of inner retinal photoreceptors in mammals and fish was a major surprise. Present in addition to the well known rods and cones, these receptors are thought to detect irradiance levels, and to be linked to the night-and-day regulation of the circadian system. Two new studies show that melanopsin, found almost exclusively in these ‘ganglion-cell photoreceptors’, is photosensitive. Qiu et al. turn mammalian kidney cells into functional photoreceptors by introducing melanopsin, and Melyan et al. do a similar trick in neuronal cells. These findings could have clinical applications, possibly allowing selective stimulation of cells in the brain and helping to restore sight lost due to retinal degeneration. A further study identifies a previously unknown retinal population of ‘giant’ melanopsin-expressing ganglion cells. They are photosensitive but are also activated by rods and cones, thereby merging the conventional ‘image forming’ pathway with the radiance-detecting pathway in primates.

Date: 2005
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DOI: 10.1038/nature03344

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