Activation of light-dependent K+ channels in ciliary invertebrate photoreceptors involves cGMP but not the IP3/Ca2+ cascade.

The activation of light-dependent K+ channels in ciliary photoreceptors from Pecten was investigated using intracellular dialysis of putative messengers and modulators. Neither elevated [Ca2+] nor BAPTA changed the membrane current in the dark or the light response. IP3 and the antagonists heparin and decavanadate were similarly ineffective, indicating that in these cells the IP3/Ca2+ signaling pathway is not crucial for phototransduction. By contrast, 8-Br-cGMP and cGMP induced an outward current accompanied by an increase in membrane conductance; 8-Br-cAMP was ineffective. The identity between the cGMP-induced and the light-induced currents is suggested by the following: both are carried by K+ and blocked by 4-AP, and both show outward rectification. In addition, guanine cyclic nucleotides depressed the photoresponse and induced single-channel currents in excised patches of light-sensitive membrane. These light-dependent channels therefore appear to represent a link between the families of cyclic nucleotide-gated channels and voltage-dependent K+ channels.