Visual pigment loss after light-induced shedding of rod outer segments

Thermal control of rod outer segment length and shedding in a fish, Fundulus zebrinus

The effects of temperature on rod outer segment (ROS) length and membrane shedding were studied in a cyprinodont fish, Fundulus zebrinus. After 30 days in 14L/10D cyclic light and 17 degrees C, ROS length averaged 41.2 microns. Fish were then exposed to 7, 17 or 27 degrees C for 10 and 25 days before being sampled 5 hr before and 1-4 hr after light onset. In 7 degrees C ROS shortened to 83.5% of initial controls within 10 days, then only 4.1% further, to 79.4% by day 25 (34.4, 32.7 microns). ROS length did not change significantly in fish remaining at 17 degrees C (39.7 and 40.7 microns at day 10 and 25) or in fish moved to 27 degrees C (41.7 and 41.6 microns). Phagosomes were most numerous in 7 degrees C and least numerous in 17 degrees C, but varied in overall size among the largest phagosomes being more common after light onset. After light onset at day 25, the estimated volume per phagosome was 1.14, 4.73 and 5.75 microns 3 in 7, 17 and 27 degrees C. Total phagosome volume per 100 microns RPE at 27 degrees C was generally double that at 17 degrees C. Apparently, in F. zebrinus, the number of disks shed from ROS is adjusted during thermal acclimation to stabilize ROS length.

Lectin cytochemistry and freeze-fracture study of phagocytosis in the rat retina

Lectin cytochemistry and freeze-fracture intramembrane morphology have been studied in adult rat retinas during various stages of the phagocytic cycle. Animals were perfused with aldehydes at various times during the first 6 hours of light and the retinas were removed. Chopped sections of tissue were stained with one of two lectin-peroxidase conjugates: ricinis communis agglutinin (RCA), which is specific for n-acetylgalactosamine and galactose, or wheat germ agglutinin (WGA), which is specific for n-acetylglucosamine and sialic acid. Other sections were frozen and prepared for freeze fracture. During the first hour of light onset, numerous phagosomes are already present in the retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cytoplasm. The engulfment stages of phagocytosis whereby the RPE microvilli wrap around and enclose shed rod outer segment (ROS) tips are rarely observed at this time. Newly formed phagosomes are present in the apical RPE cytoplasm while older and more osmiophilic phagosomes are located deeper within the RPE cytoplasm. Between 2 and 4 hours of light onset fewer phagosomes are present in the RPE cytoplasm, but it is common to observe many ROS tips in various stages of microvillous engulfment. By 6 hours phagosomes are rarely present but some engulfed ROS tips continue to be observed. Both RCA and WGA stain RPE microvilli and plasma membranes of photoreceptor outer segments. WGA, in addition, labels some intradisc membranes of intact and also shed outer segments that are being engulfed but does not label disc membranes in phagosomes. At all times, phagosomes are rimmed by both lectin stains, but their internal contents are never stained. Lysosomes and multivesicular and residual bodies are labeled by both lectins. Freeze-fractured retinas show that as the ROS tips are engulfed, particle-free areas are present on disc P-face (cytoplasmic) membranes. Many newly formed phagosomes also display particle-free membrane areas and older phagosome membranes are completely devoid of particles. These observations show that the changes in WGA staining and intramembrane particle distribution on disc membranes occur in retinas during phagocytosis and suggest that some membrane component that is present for the initial phagocytic interaction may be rapidly degraded thereafter.

Utilization of exogenous retinol by frog pigment epithelium

High-performance liquid chromatography was used to investigate the utilization of exogenous 11,12-3H2-retinol by frog pigment epithelium (RPE) in vitro or after intraocular injection into the dark-adapted, whole animal. Isolated frog RPE contains an adequate supply of acyl donors and can esterify all-trans, 11-cis and 13-cis isomers of retinol. The esterifying activity is restricted to the particulate fraction. Homogenates of choroid cannot esterify retinol. The ester formed by the RPE is primarily palmitate, and is therefore identical with the endogenous retinyl ester. Frog RPE also formed 13-cis retinyl palmitate from all-trans retinol, probably by esterification of 13-cis retinol formed non-enzymatically from the all-trans isomer. None of the in vitro experiments provided any evidence for the formation of 11-cis retinoid. There was slow appearance of label in 11-cis retinyl palmitate when 3H-all-trans retinol was injected intraocularly into the intact frog. After 15 hr its specific activity was only 20% of that of the all-trans retinyl palmitate. This rate of formation of 11-cis retinoid is inadequate for rhodopsin regeneration. However, it is more than an order of magnitude too fast to be accounted for by phagocytosis of rhodopsin. It is suggested that 11-cis retinoid is generated in the retina and is slowly transferred to the site of esterification in the RPE.

Photoreceptor outer segments: accelerated membrane renewal in rods after exposure to light

The rate of rod outer segment renewal in Rana pipiens tadpoles under constant light and under diurnal conditions of 12 or 2 hours light per day is significantly increased compared to that in animals in darkness. Furthermore, during 24 hours in light after 6 days in darkness the rate of renewal is three to four times that in darkness. In Xenopus laevis tadpoles the rate of renewal is more than five times greater during the first 8 hours of a normal diurnal cycle than during the following 16 hours. These observations demonstrate that bursts of renewal activity occur as a response to light, and suggest that a normal pattern of light alternating with darness plays a fundamental role in the regulation of rod outer segment turnover.