title: Peropsin, a novel visual pigment-like protein located in the apical microvilli of the retinal pigment epithelium.
abstract: A visual pigment-like protein, referred to as peropsin, has been identified by large-scale sequencing of cDNAs derived from human ocular tissues. The corresponding mRNA was found only in the eye, where it is localized to the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE). Peropsin immunoreactivity, visualized by light and electron microscopy, localizes the protein to the apical face of the RPE, and most prominently to the microvilli that surround the photoreceptor outer segments. These observations suggest that peropsin may play a role in RPE physiology either by detecting light directly or by monitoring the concentration of retinoids or other photoreceptor-derived compounds.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Gilbert
authors.forename: N G
authors.initials: NG
authors.lastname: Copeland
authors.forename: N A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Jenkins
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Nathans
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005136:Eye Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D016253:Microscopy, Immunoelectron; D008871:Microvilli / Q000378:metabolism; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010857:Pigment Epithelium of Eye / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D012168:Retinal Pigments / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D012243:Rhodopsin; D016415:Sequence Alignment
chemical_list: D018076:DNA, Complementary; D005136:Eye Proteins; C504671:RRH protein, human; D012168:Retinal Pigments; D012243:Rhodopsin