title: Broad spectral excitation of opsin for enhanced stimulation of cells.
abstract: Optical stimulation of cells expressing light-sensitive proteins (opsins) has allowed targeted activation with cellular specificity. However, since narrow-band light has been used for excitation of these optogenetic probes, only active stimulation strategies are being attempted for clinical applications such as restoration of vision. Here, we report use of broad spectral excitation (white light) for optogenetic stimulation of opsin-sensitized cells. We found that ReaChR is optimally excited with white light offering significantly higher photocurrents compared to spectrally filtered narrow-band light stimulation. Our findings open up the possibility of passive stimulation strategy by use of natural sunlight for retinal stimulation, which could have benefits for ambient light stimulated vision restoration.
authors.forename: Sarmishtha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Satpathy
authors.forename: Subrata
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Batabyal
authors.forename: Kamal R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Dhakal
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Young-tae
authors.initials: YT
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Samarendra K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Mohanty
mesh_terms: D057809:HEK293 Cells; D006801:Humans; D008027:Light; D055355:Opsins / Q000235:genetics*; D061848:Optical Imaging; D062308:Optogenetics / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D055355:Opsins