Altered rhodopsin accessibility in the retinal dystrophic mouse.

Retinas obtained from 7-day-old rd mice show less reaction with antirhodopsin antisera than retinas from normal mice of the same age. Likewise, antisera prepared against synthetic peptides, which corresponds to the carboxyl terminus of rhodopsin, also react less with rd retinas from 7-day-old mice. In contrast, Western blots of denatured rhodopsin from rd vs. normal retinas of the same age indicate no change in the total quantity of this protein. These results demonstrate that in the 7-day-old rd mouse retina, rhodopsin is not altered in quantity; rather, it is less accessible to reaction with anti-rhodopsin antisera. Furthermore, these results suggest that the site of altered accessibility is on the carboxyl terminus of rhodopsin.