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Photoreceptor excitation and adaptation by inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate

Nature volume 311, pages 157–160 (1984)Cite this article

Abstract

A central question concerning vision is the identity of the biochemical pathway that underlies phototransduction. The large size of the ventral photoreceptors of Limulus polyphemus renders them a favourite preparation for investigating this problem1. The fact that a single photon opens approximately 1,000 ionic channels in these photoreceptors2,3 suggests the need for an internal transmitter. We have investigated whether inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (InsP3) functions as such an internal transmitter, given that InsP3 may act as an intracellular messenger in other cellular processes4,5. Here we report that in Limulus, intracellular pressure injection of InsP3 both excites and adapts ventral photoreceptors in a manner similar to light.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Sensory Physiology, Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, Massachusetts, 02543, USA

    Alan Fein, Richard Payne & D. Wesley Corson

  2. Department of Physiology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, 02118, USA

    Alan Fein & D. Wesley Corson

  3. ARC Unit of Invertebrate Chemistry and Physiology, Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EJ, UK

    Michael J. Berridge

  4. Department of Biochemistry, ARC Institute of Animal Physiology, Babraham, Cambridge, CB2 4AT, UK

    Robin F. Irvine

Authors
  1. Alan Fein
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  3. D. Wesley Corson
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  4. Michael J. Berridge
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  5. Robin F. Irvine
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Fein, A., Payne, R., Wesley Corson, D. et al. Photoreceptor excitation and adaptation by inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate. Nature 311, 157–160 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1038/311157a0

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