Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, 44106, USA.
Pflugers Arch. 2021 Sep;473(9):1361-1376. doi: 10.1007/s00424-021-02522-5. Epub 2021 Feb 16.
Rhodopsin is the light receptor in rod photoreceptor cells that initiates scotopic vision. Studies on the light receptor span well over a century, yet questions about the organization of rhodopsin within the photoreceptor cell membrane still persist and a consensus view on the topic is still elusive. Rhodopsin has been intensely studied for quite some time, and there is a wealth of information to draw from to formulate an organizational picture of the receptor in native membranes. Early experimental evidence in apparent support for a monomeric arrangement of rhodopsin in rod photoreceptor cell membranes is contrasted and reconciled with more recent visual evidence in support of a supramolecular organization of rhodopsin. What is known so far about the determinants of forming a supramolecular structure and possible functional roles for such an organization are also discussed. Many details are still missing on the structural and functional properties of the supramolecular organization of rhodopsin in rod photoreceptor cell membranes. The emerging picture presented here can serve as a springboard towards a more in-depth understanding of the topic.
视紫红质是杆状光感受器细胞中的光受体,它启动暗视觉。对光受体的研究已经超过一个世纪,但关于视紫红质在光感受器细胞膜内的组织方式的问题仍然存在,而且关于这个主题的共识观点仍然难以捉摸。视紫红质已经被深入研究了相当长的一段时间,有大量的信息可以用来构建受体在天然膜中的组织图像。早期的实验证据明显支持视紫红质在杆状光感受器细胞膜中以单体形式排列,这与最近支持视紫红质超分子组织的视觉证据形成对比并得到调和。关于形成超分子结构的决定因素以及这种组织的可能功能作用的知识也在讨论中。关于杆状光感受器细胞膜中超分子组织的视紫红质的结构和功能特性,目前仍有许多细节尚不清楚。这里呈现的新图景可以作为深入了解该主题的跳板。