Department of Molecular Biology, Cell Biology and Biochemistry, Brown University, Providence RI, 02912, USA.
Department of Molecular Pharmacology, Physiology and Biotechnology, Brown University, Providence RI, 02912, USA.
Adv Biol Regul. 2020 Jan;75:100668. doi: 10.1016/j.jbior.2019.100668. Epub 2019 Oct 7.
Because sunlight is essential for human survival, we have developed complex mechanisms for detecting and responding to light stimuli. The eyes and skin are major organs for sensing light and express several light-sensitive opsin receptors. These opsins mediate cellular responses to spectrally-distinct wavelengths of visible and ultraviolet light. How the eyes mediate visual phototransduction is well understood, but less is known about how the skin detects light. Both human and murine skin express a wide array of opsins, with one of the most highly expressed being the functionally elusive opsin 3 (OPN3). In this review we explore light reception, opsin expression and signaling in skin cells; we compile data elucidating potential functions for human OPN3 in skin, with emphasis on recent studies investigating OPN3 regulation of melanin within epidermal melanocytes.
由于阳光对人类的生存至关重要，我们已经开发出了复杂的机制来检测和响应光刺激。眼睛和皮肤是感知光的主要器官，它们表达了几种光敏感视蛋白受体。这些视蛋白介导细胞对可见光谱和紫外线的不同波长的光的反应。眼睛介导视觉光转导的机制已经得到很好的理解，但皮肤如何检测光的机制知之甚少。人和鼠的皮肤都表达了广泛的视蛋白，其中表达水平最高的是功能尚不清楚的视蛋白 3（OPN3）。在这篇综述中，我们探讨了皮肤细胞中的光接收、视蛋白表达和信号转导；我们汇总了阐明人类 OPN3 在皮肤中潜在功能的数据，重点是最近研究调查 OPN3 对表皮黑素细胞中黑色素的调节。
