Retinal rod GTPase turnover rate increases with concentration: a key to the control of visual excitation?

Guanosine triphosphate (GTP) binding proteins mediate cellular responses to hormones, neurotransmitters, growth factors and light. Activated GTP binding proteins are shut off by GTPase mediated hydrolysis of GTP. Photoreceptor GTPase rates are reported to be 10-50 times too slow to account for electrophysiological recovery time after light stimulus. Recovery rates of other parts of the system, however, appear fast enough. We present evidence that the GTPase rate increases markedly with photoreceptor membrane concentration implying the existence of a diffusible factor controlling the GTPase. When extrapolated to physiological concentrations, the GTPase turnover rate is fast enough (0.25-1.5 sec) to account for the recovery rate of the light stimulated signal of the photoreceptor cells.