A Novel Human Opsin in the Inner Retina

By I. Provencio, I. Rodriguez, G. Jiang, W. Hayes, E. Moreira, M. Rollag. Journal of Neuroscience, 2000

1,262 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Here we report the identification of a novel human opsin, melanopsin, that is expressed in cells of the mammalian inner retina. The human melanopsin gene consists of 10 exons and is mapped to chromosome 10q22. This chromosomal localization and gene structure differs significantly from that of other human opsins that typically have four to seven exons. A survey of 26 anatomical sites indicates that, in humans, melanopsin is expressed only in the eye. In situ hybridization histochemistry shows that melanopsin expression is restricted to cells within the ganglion and amacrine cell layers of the primate and murine retinas. Notably, expression is not observed in retinal photoreceptor cells, the opsin-containing cells of the outer retina that initiate vision. The unique inner retinal localization of melanopsin suggests that it is not involved in image formation but rather may mediate nonvisual photoreceptive tasks, such as the regulation of circadian rhythms and the acute suppression of pineal melatonin. The anatomical distribution of melanopsin-positive retinal cells is similar to the pattern of cells known to project from the retina to the suprachiasmatic nuclei of the hypothalamus, a primary circadian pacemaker.

Subfields: Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience, Endocrine and Autonomic Systems

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/35dad6e964ca3fda7bc32ed35db4c965fc87567b

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Citations in the corpus

Non-image forming effects of illuminance and correlated color temperature of office light on alertness, mood, and performance across cognitive domains (2019, background): “It is widely accepted that the ipRGCs contain the photopigment melanopsin, and are primarily responsible for the non-image forming e ﬀ ects of light [3,4,48].”
Non-Visual Effects of Light on Melatonin, Alertness and Cognitive Performance: Can Blue-Enriched Light Keep Us Alert? (2011, background): “The non-visual effects of ocular light at short wavelengths strongly impinge on the human circadian timing system [1,2], most probably via novel photoreceptors with the photopigment melanopsin [3,4,5].”
Characterization of an ocular photopigment capable of driving pupillary constriction in mice (2001, background): “As yet, the molecular identity of this pigment is unknown, although several members of the opsin protein super-family have now been identified outside rod and cone cells in the mammalian ey”
A clockwork web: circadian timing in brain and periphery, in health and disease (2003, background): “Conventional retinal signalling through rods and cones might be sufficient but is not necessary for entrainment, and another putative photoreceptive system based on melanopsin, a homologue of a photoreceptor in amphibian skin, has been implicate”
Sensitivity of the human circadian pacemaker to nocturnal light: melatonin phase resetting and suppression (2000, background): “…not preclude the existence of a novel circadian photoreceptor, utilized either in conjunction with the known cones or independently, as has been suggested in human and non-human mammals (Foster et al. 1993; Provencio & Foster, 1995; Thresher et al. 1998; Lucas et al. 1999; Provencio et al. 2000).”
Central projections of melanopsin‐expressing retinal ganglion cells in the mouse (2006, background): “…cell; retinohypothalamic tract; pretectum; superior colliculus Melanopsin is an opsin protein originally identified in frog dermal melanophores (Provencio et al., 1998, 2000) and now firmly established as a functional sensory photopigment (Newman et al., 2003; Melyan et al., 2005; Panda et…”
Embodied Perception and the Economy of Action (2006, background): “clock capable of being entrained to the light/dark cycle of the day (Provencio et al., 2000).”
Coordination of circadian timing in mammals (2002, background): “Localization of melanopsin gene expression and melanopsin immunoreactivity within a widely dispersed population of retinal ganglion cells suggests that melanopsin is a circadian photorecepto”
Dose-response relationship for light intensity and ocular and electroencephalographic correlates of human alertness. (2000, background): “There is considerable evidence that the circadian photoreceptive system is functionally and structurally distinct from the image forming visual system [15,27, 34 ,37].”