title: The differences in the expressions of visual pigments and transducin in photoreceptor cell differentiation.
abstract: The distribution and accumulation of visual pigments, i.e., rod pigment, rhodopsin and red sensitive cone pigment, iodopsin, and transducin in the retina of chicken and chicken embryo were investigated immunohistochemically using their specific antibodies. The immunoreactivities of these proteins appeared at the early stage of photoreceptor differentiation (embryonal day 15) and increased in the photoreceptor cells appeared to reach maximum at the end of the embryonal period (embryonal day 20). On the other hand, although the immunoreactivity of beta gamma subunit of transducin (T beta gamma) was detected at embryonal day 15, the expression level of T beta gamma still remained in low level during the embryonal period. These observations suggest that both T beta gamma and visual pigments are expressed during the embryonic period in chicken photoreceptor cells, but their accumulations in the cells are different.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Sapporo Medical University, Japan.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ohguro
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kitamura
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Konari
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sohma
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Fukada
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Akino
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000502:physiology; D002642:Chick Embryo; D002645:Chickens / Q000378:metabolism*; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D010786:Photoreceptor Cells / Q000502:physiology*; D012160:Retina / Q000166:cytology / Q000196:embryology / Q000378:metabolism*; D012168:Retinal Pigments / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D015293:Transducin / Q000096:biosynthesis*
chemical_list: D012168:Retinal Pigments; D015293:Transducin