Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 11, 2025

Determination of Photoreceptor Cell Spectral Sensitivity in an Insect Model from In Vivo Intracellular Recordings
Published on: February 26, 2016
The prion protein is required for normal responses to light stimuli by photoreceptors and bipolar cells
James F Striebel1, James A Carroll1, Brent Race1
1Laboratory of Neurological Infections and Immunity, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Hamilton, MT 59840, USA.
Abstract:
The prion protein, PrPC, is well known as an essential susceptibility factor for neurodegenerative prion diseases, yet its function in normal, healthy cells remains uncertain. A role in synaptic function has been proposed for PrPC, supported by its cell surface expression in neurons and glia. Here, in mouse retina, we localized PrPC to the junctions between photoreceptors and bipolar cells using synaptic proteins EAAT5, CtBP2, and PSD-95. PrPC localized most densely with bipolar cell dendrites synapsing with cone photoreceptors. In two coisogenic mouse strains, deletion of the gene encoding PrPC, Prnp, significantly altered the scotopic and/or photopic electroretinographic (ERG) responses of photoreceptors and bipolar cells. Cone-dominant pathways showed the most significant ERG changes. Retinal thickness, quantitated by high-resolution optical coherence tomography (OCT), and ribbon synapse morphology were not altered upon deletion of PrPC, suggesting that the ERG changes were driven by functional rather than structural alterations.
Related Concept Videos
Photoreceptors and Visual Pathways
Channel Rhodopsins
Rhodopsins belong to the family of cell surface proteins called G-protein coupled receptors,...
G-Protein Gated Ion Channels
Sensory...
Anatomy of the Eyeball

