title: Light-dependent compartmentalization of transducin in rod photoreceptors.
abstract: Three major visual signaling proteins, transducin, arrestin, and recoverin undergo bidirectional translocations between the outer segment and inner compartments of rod photoreceptors in a light-dependent manner. The light-dependent translocation of proteins is believed to contribute to adaptation and neuroprotection of photoreceptor cells. The potential physiological significance and mechanisms of light-controlled protein translocations are at the center of current discussion. In this paper, I outline the latest advances in understanding the mechanisms of bidirectional translocation of transducin and determinants of its steady-state distribution in dark- and light-adapted photoreceptor cells.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, University of Iowa College of Medicine, 5-532 Bowen Science Building, 51 Newton Road, Iowa, IA 52242, USA. nikolai-artemyev@uiowa.edu
authors.forename: Nikolai O
authors.initials: NO
authors.lastname: Artemyev
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D019393:Arrestin / Q000378:metabolism / Q000528:radiation effects; D002451:Cell Compartmentation / Q000502:physiology / Q000528:radiation effects*; D003623:Dark Adaptation / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008027:Light; D021381:Protein Transport / Q000502:physiology / Q000528:radiation effects; D017948:Retinal Rod Photoreceptor Cells / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000528:radiation effects*; D015293:Transducin / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000528:radiation effects*; D014785:Vision, Ocular / Q000502:physiology / Q000528:radiation effects
chemical_list: D019393:Arrestin; D015293:Transducin