Collaborative Research: Melanopsin - A Novel Deep Brain Opsin

合作研究：黑视蛋白——一种新型的深部脑视蛋白

• 批准号: 9809916
• 负责人: Mark Rollag
• 金额: $ 16.91万
• 依托单位: Henry M Jackson Fdn for Advmt of Military Medicine
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 1998
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1998-09-01 至 2000-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=9809916&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Melanopsin; Novel; Deep

Environmental light levels can be detected by systems other than the eye in non-mammalian vertebrates. These extra-retinal photoreceptors often are used by non-mammalian vertebrates to synchronize biological rhythms, and to control rapid changes in skin pigmentation for camouflage. The photopigment in the retina of the eye in vertebrates includes proteins called opsins, but the photopigments for this extra-retinal light sensitivity are unknown. Recently a new opsin protein molecule in the brain, skin and eye of frogs has been found, and is named melanopsin because it was isolated from the pigment cells in the skin called melanophores. This collaborative research project uses techniques of gene expression and molecular biology along with microscopy and immunochemistry to see how light interacts with the expression of the melanopsin in frogs. Tests will show whether melanopsin expression is required for the camouflage response of pigment dispersion in the melanophores, and whether melanopsin expression is required for light to suppress the output of the hormone melatonin from the pineal gland of the brain, which is important for photic control of biological rhythms. Transgenic tissues will be tested to see whether those that over-express melanopsin are hypersensitive to light while those with under-expression are insensitive to light. Results will be important for understanding how animals respond to light without relying only upon the eyes, and will have a broad impact not only on neuroendocrinology and sensory biology, but on cell phyisiology and behavioral biology, and comparisons of molecular structure could be important to evolutionary biology.

在非哺乳类脊椎动物中，环境光水平可以通过眼睛以外的系统来检测。 这些视网膜外的光感受器通常被非哺乳类脊椎动物用来同步生物节律，并控制皮肤色素的快速变化以进行伪装。 脊椎动物眼睛视网膜中的色素包括被称为视蛋白的蛋白质，但这种视网膜外光敏感性的色素是未知的。 最近在青蛙的大脑、皮肤和眼睛中发现了一种新的视蛋白分子，并将其命名为黑视蛋白，因为它是从皮肤中称为黑色素细胞的色素细胞中分离出来的。 这项合作研究项目使用基因表达和分子生物学技术，沿着显微镜和免疫化学，观察光线如何与青蛙黑视素的表达相互作用。 测试将显示黑视蛋白表达是否是黑色素细胞中色素分散的伪装反应所必需的，以及黑视蛋白表达是否是光抑制大脑松果体褪黑激素输出所必需的，这对于生物节律的光控制很重要。 转基因组织将被测试，看看是否那些过度表达黑视蛋白是对光过敏，而那些表达不足是对光不敏感。 这些结果对于理解动物如何在不依赖眼睛的情况下对光做出反应非常重要，不仅对神经内分泌学和感觉生物学，而且对细胞生理学和行为生物学产生广泛影响，分子结构的比较可能对进化生物学很重要。