A Brown University team has found that a protein called melanopsin plays a key role in the inner wor ... ❋ Unknown (2010)
Around 1% of the neurons in our retina produce a light-sensitive protein called melanopsin and, until now, scientists thought that these "melanopsin-containing retinal ganglion cells" ❋ Alok Jha (2010)
The gene is called the melanopsin gene, and it produces a light-sensitive protein found in photoreceptors in the eye's retina. ❋ Unknown (2008)
Mrosovsky N, Hattar S (2003) Impaired masking responses to light in melanopsin-knockout mice. ❋ Chihiro Kawaguchi Et Al. (2010)
These 'nonvisual' light responses have been suggested to be predominantly mediated by the novel photopigment melanopsin Pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP) belongs to the vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP)/glucagons/secretin family and plays pleiotropic roles as a neurotransmitter, neuromodulator and neurotrophic factor ❋ Chihiro Kawaguchi Et Al. (2010)
Altimus CM, Ecker JL, Hattar S (2007) Multiple photoreceptors contribute to nonimage-forming visual functions predominantly through melanopsin-containing retinal ganglion cells. ❋ Chihiro Kawaguchi Et Al. (2010)
Castrucci AM, McCall M, Provencio I, Menaker M (2006) Nonvisual light responses in the Rpe65 knockout mouse: rod loss restores sensitivity to the melanopsin system. ❋ Chihiro Kawaguchi Et Al. (2010)
We examined the retinal morphology and innervations in the mutant mice, and no apparent changes were observed in melanopsin-immunoreactive cells. ❋ Chihiro Kawaguchi Et Al. (2010)
Pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP) is exclusively coexpressed with melanopsin in a small subset of retinal ganglion cells and is predicted to be involved extensively in these responses; however, there were inconsistencies in the previous reports, and its functional role has not been well understood. ❋ Chihiro Kawaguchi Et Al. (2010)
Japan The photopigment melanopsin has been suggested to act as a dominant photoreceptor in nonvisual photoreception including resetting of the circadian clock (entrainment), direct tuning or masking of vital status (activity, sleep/wake cycles, etc.), and the pupillary light reflex ❋ Chihiro Kawaguchi Et Al. (2010)
(A) Immunohistochemical analysis of melanopsin localization (brown) in the retina. ❋ Chihiro Kawaguchi Et Al. (2010)
Previous anatomical studies of PACAP/melanopsin-containing retinal innervation suggested roles of PACAP/melanopsin in a broad variety of nonvisual photoreception ❋ Chihiro Kawaguchi Et Al. (2010)
Adcyap1 −/− mice could be also related to melanopsin-mediated phototransduction, because melanopsin is a photoreceptor that is exclusively colocalized in PACAP-expressing ganglion cells in the retina ❋ Chihiro Kawaguchi Et Al. (2010)
Lu J, Fischer D, Saper CB (2003) A broad role for melanopsin in nonvisual photoreception. ❋ Chihiro Kawaguchi Et Al. (2010)