The P23H mutation in the rhodopsin gene causes rhodopsin misfolding, altered trafficking and formation of insoluble aggregates leading to photoreceptor degeneration and autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa (RP). There are no effective therapies to treat this condition. Compounds that enhance dissociation of protein aggregates may be of value in developing new treatments for such diseases. An...

A general procedure to incorporate membrane proteins in a native state into large single bilayer vesicles is described. The results obtained with rhodopsin from vertebrate and invertebrate retinas are presented. The technique involves: (a) the direct transfer of rhodopsin-lipid complexes from native membranes into ether or pentane, and (b) the sonication of the complex in apolar solvent with aq...

Phosphorylation of rhodopsin critically controls the visual transduction cascade by uncoupling it from the G-protein transducin. The kinase primarily responsible for this phosphorylation is rhodopsin kinase, a substrate-regulated kinase that phosphorylates light-activated rhodopsin. Protein kinase C has been implicated in controlling the phosphorylation of both light-activated and dark-adapted ...

Reliable signal transduction via G-protein-coupled receptors requires proper receptor inactivation. For example, signals originating from single rhodopsin molecules vary little from one to the next, requiring reproducible inactivation of rhodopsin by phosphorylation and arrestin binding. We determined how reduced concentrations of rhodopsin kinase (GRK1) and/or arrestin1 influenced the kinetics...

The bacterial type rhodopsins are present in all the three domains of life. In contrast to the animal type rhodopsin that performs mainly sensory functions in higher eukaryotes, the bacterial type rhodopsin could function as ion channel, pumps and as sensory proteins. The functioning of rhodopsin in higher eukaryotes requires the transport of rhodopsin from its site of synthesis to the ciliated...

A general procedure to incorporate membrane proteins in a native state into large single bilayer vesicles is described. The results obtained with rhodopsin from vertebrate and invertebrate retinas are presented. The technique involves: (a) the direct transfer of rhodopsin-lipid complexes from native membranes into ether or pentane, and (b) the sonication of the complex in apolar solvent with aq...

Progressive retinal degeneration is the underlying feature of many human retinal dystrophies. Previous work using Drosophila as a model system and analysis of specific mutations in human rhodopsin have uncovered a connection between rhodopsin endocytosis and retinal degeneration. In these mutants, rhodopsin and its regulatory protein arrestin form stable complexes, and endocytosis of these comp...

Rhodopsin samples, isolated using four different extraction procedures, were used to investigate the photodependent activation of the GTPase activity of transducin. A complete inhibition of transducin light-dependent GTP hydrolytic activity was observed when rhodopsin purified in the presence of 1% digitonin, following rod outer segment (ROS) solubilization with 1% 3-[(3-cholamidopropyl) dimeth...

PURPOSE To determine whether the volatile anesthetic halothane protects against light-induced photoreceptor degeneration in the rodent retina. METHODS Albino mice and rats were anesthetized with halothane and exposed to high levels of white or blue light. Nonanesthetized animals served as controls. Retinal morphology was assessed by light microscopy, and apoptosis of photoreceptor cells was v...

Over 100 point mutations in the rhodopsin gene have been associated with retinitis pigmentosa (RP), a family of inherited visual disorders. Among these, we focused on characterizing the S186W mutation. We compared the thermal properties of the S186W mutant with another RP-causing mutant, D190N, and with WT rhodopsin. To assess thermal stability, we measured the rate of two thermal reactions con...