[Phototransduction mediated by melanopsin in intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells]

Melanopsin is the most recent photopigment described. As all the other opsins, it attaches in the retina as chromophore. Its amino acid sequence resembles more invertebrate opsins than those of vertebrates. The signal transduction pathway of opsins in vertebrates is based on the coupling to the G protein transducin, triggering a signaling cascade that results in the hyperpolarization of the plasma membrane. On the contrary, the photoreceptors of invertebrates activate the Gq protein pathway, which leads to depolarizing responses. Phototransduction mediated by melanopsin leads to the depolarization of those cells where it is expressed, the intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells; the cellular messengers and the ion channel type(s) responsible for the cells´ response is still unclear. Studies to elucidate the signaling cascade of melanopsin in heterologous expression systems, in retina and isolated/cultured intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells, have provided evidence for the involvement of protein Gq and phospholipase C together with the likely participation of an ion channel member of the transient receptor potential-canonical family, a transduction pathway similar to invertebrate photopigments, particularly Drosophila melanogaster. The intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells are the sole source of retinal inferences to the suprachiasmatic nucleus; thus, clarifying completely the melanopsin signaling pathway will impact the chronobiology field, including the clinical aspects.