Induction of photosensitivity by heterologous expression of melanopsin

Xudong Qiu, Tida Kumbalasiri, Stephanie M. Carlson, Kwoon Y. Wong, Vanitha Krishna, Ignacio Provencio and David M. Berson ()
Additional contact information
Xudong Qiu: Brown University
Tida Kumbalasiri: Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences
Stephanie M. Carlson: Brown University
Kwoon Y. Wong: Brown University
Vanitha Krishna: Brown University
Ignacio Provencio: Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences
David M. Berson: Brown University

Nature, 2005, vol. 433, issue 7027, 745-749

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/nature03345

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