Rhodopsin and visual adaptation: analysis of photoreceptor thresholds in the isolated skate retina

Retinal Organoids and Retinal Prostheses: An Overview

Despite the progress of modern medicine in the last decades, millions of people diagnosed with retinal dystrophies (RDs), such as retinitis pigmentosa, or age-related diseases, such as age-related macular degeneration, are suffering from severe visual impairment or even legal blindness. On the one hand, the reprogramming of somatic cells into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and the progress of three-dimensional (3D) retinal organoids (ROs) technology provide a great opportunity to study, understand, and even treat retinal diseases. On the other hand, research advances in the field of electronic retinal prosthesis using inorganic photovoltaic polymers and the emergence of organic semiconductors represent an encouraging therapeutical strategy to restore vision to patients at the late onset of the disease. This review will provide an overview of the latest advancement in both fields. We first describe the retina and the photoreceptors, briefly mention the most used RD animal models, then focus on the latest RO differentiation protocols, carry out an overview of the current technology on inorganic and organic retinal prostheses to restore vision, and finally summarize the potential utility and applications of ROs.

Intrinsic optical signal imaging of retinal physiology: a review

Intrinsic optical signal (IOS) imaging promises to be a noninvasive method for high-resolution examination of retinal physiology, which can advance the study and diagnosis of eye diseases. While specialized optical instruments are desirable for functional IOS imaging of retinal physiology, in depth understanding of multiple IOS sources in the complex retinal neural network is essential for optimizing instrument designs. We provide a brief overview of IOS studies and relationships in rod outer segment suspensions, isolated retinas, and intact eyes. Recent developments of line-scan confocal and functional optical coherence tomography (OCT) instruments have allowed in vivo IOS mapping of photoreceptor physiology. Further improvements of the line-scan confocal and functional OCT systems may provide a feasible solution to pursue functional IOS mapping of human photoreceptors. Some interesting IOSs have already been detected in inner retinal layers, but better development of the IOS instruments and software algorithms is required to achieve optimal physiological assessment of inner retinal neurons.

Retinal function in Bothnia dystrophy. An electrophysiological study

Using prolonged dark adaptometry, standard dark adaptation (DA) and prolonged DA full-field electroretinograms (ERGs), we analysed the retinal function in patients with Bothnia dystrophy (BD), a variant of recessive retinitis punctata albescens (RPA). A compromised rod and cone function, a likely dysfunction of the Müller cells, and indications of disturbed neuronal function of the inner retina, were found. With prolonged DA, a gradual increase in retinal sensitivity to light and an improvement of the ERG components occurred. The findings indicate a prolonged synthesis of photopigments, retardation of the visual process in the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), and a loss of retinal cells, probably starting at a relatively early age in BD.

Effects of light and dark adaptation of rods on specific-hue threshold

Specific-hue threshold as a function of absolute rod threshold was measured with long-, middle-, and short-wavelength monochromatic test lights presented 17 deg extrafoveally. The measurements were obtained both during the rod phase of long-term dark adaptation and under conditions where the rod receptor system was gradually light adapted from a dark-adapted state by a scotopic background field of increasing retinal illumination. The results show that change in specific-hue threshold with change in absolute rod threshold is not, in general, identical for light and dark adaptation of the rod receptor system. Thus, in the long- and middle-wavelength test regions, the specific-hue threshold could be obtained at higher intensities under the light- as compared to the dark-adaptation condition when absolute rod thresholds were the same. Just the opposite was found for the short-wavelength tests. It is concluded that change in specific-hue threshold with light and dark adaptation of the rod receptor system is not, in general, controlled by the same mechanism.

Excitation and desensitization of mouse rod photoreceptors in vivo following bright adapting light

Electroretinographic (ERG) methods were used to determine response properties of mouse rod photoreceptors in vivo following adapting illumination that produced a significant extent of rhodopsin bleaching. Bleaching levels prevailing at approximately 10 min and approximately 20 min after the adapting exposure were on average 14 % and 9 %, respectively, based on the analysis of visual cycle retinoids in the eye tissues. Recovery of the rod response to the adapting light was monitored by analysing the ERG a-wave response to a bright probe flash presented at varying times during dark adaptation. A paired-flash procedure, in which the probe flash was presented at defined times after a weak test flash of fixed strength, was used to determine sensitivity of the rod response to the test flash. Recovery of the response to the adapting light was 80 % complete at 13.5 +/- 3.0 min (mean +/- S.D.; n = 7) after adapting light offset. The adapting light caused prolonged desensitization of the weak-flash response derived from paired-flash data. By comparison with results obtained in the absence of the adapting exposure, desensitization determined with a test-probe interval of 80 ms was ~fourfold after 5 min of dark adaptation and approximately twofold after 20 min. The results indicate, for mouse rods in vivo, that the time scale for recovery of weak-flash sensitivity substantially exceeds that for the recovery of circulating current following significant rhodopsin bleaching. The lingering desensitization may reflect a reduced efficiency of signal transmission in the phototransduction cascade distinct from that due to residual excitation.

Confronting complexity: the interlink of phototransduction and retinoid metabolism in the vertebrate retina

Absorption of light by rhodopsin or cone pigments in photoreceptors triggers photoisomerization of their universal chromophore, 11-cis-retinal, to all-trans-retinal. This photoreaction is the initial step in phototransduction that ultimately leads to the sensation of vision. Currently, a great deal of effort is directed toward elucidating mechanisms that return photoreceptors to the dark-adapted state, and processes that restore rhodopsin and counterbalance the bleaching of rhodopsin. Most notably, enzymatic isomerization of all-trans-retinal to 11-cis-retinal, called the visual cycle (or more properly the retinoid cycle), is required for regeneration of these visual pigments. Regeneration begins in rods and cones when all-trans-retinal is reduced to all-trans-retinol. The process continues in adjacent retinal pigment epithelial cells (RPE), where a complex set of reactions converts all-trans-retinol to 11-cis-retinal. Although remarkable progress has been made over the past decade in understanding the phototransduction cascade, our understanding of the retinoid cycle remains rudimentary. The aim of this review is to summarize recent developments in our current understanding of the retinoid cycle at the molecular level, and to examine the relevance of these reactions to phototransduction.

Adaptation in vertebrate photoreceptors

When light is absorbed within the outer segment of a vertebrate photoreceptor, the conformation of the photopigment rhodopsin is altered to produce an activated photoproduct called metarhodopsin II or Rh(*). Rh(*) initiates a transduction cascade similar to that for metabotropic synaptic receptors and many hormones; the Rh(*) activates a heterotrimeric G protein, which in turn stimulates an effector enzyme, a cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase. The phosphodiesterase then hydrolyzes cGMP, and the decrease in the concentration of free cGMP reduces the probability of opening of channels in the outer segment plasma membrane, producing the electrical response of the cell. Photoreceptor transduction can be modulated by changes in the mean light level. This process, called light adaptation (or background adaptation), maintains the working range of the transduction cascade within a physiologically useful region of light intensities. There is increasing evidence that the second messenger responsible for the modulation of the transduction cascade during background adaptation is primarily, if not exclusively, Ca(2+), whose intracellular free concentration is decreased by illumination. The change in free Ca(2+) is believed to have a variety of effects on the transduction mechanism, including modulation of the rate of the guanylyl cyclase and rhodopsin kinase, alteration of the gain of the transduction cascade, and regulation of the affinity of the outer segment channels for cGMP. The sensitivity of the photoreceptor is also reduced by previous exposure to light bright enough to bleach a substantial fraction of the photopigment in the outer segment. This form of desensitization, called bleaching adaptation (the recovery from which is known as dark adaptation), seems largely to be due to an activation of the transduction cascade by some form of bleached pigment. The bleached pigment appears to activate the G protein transducin directly, although with a gain less than Rh(*). The resulting decrease in intracellular Ca(2+) then modulates the transduction cascade, by a mechanism very similar to the one responsible for altering sensitivity during background adaptation.

Oscillatory potentials in the retina: what do they reveal

This chapter is an overview of current knowledge on the oscillatory potentials (OPs) of the retina. The first section describes the characteristics of the OPs. The basic, adaptational, pharmacological and developmental characteristics of the OPs are different from the a- and b-waves, the major components of the electroretinogram (ERG). The OPs are most easily recorded in mesopic adaptational conditions and reflect rapid changes of adaptation. They represent photopic and scotopic processes, probably an interaction between cone and rod activity in the retina. The OPs are sensitive to disruption of inhibitory (dopamine, GABA-, and glycine-mediated) neuronal pathways and are not selectively affected by excitatory amino acids. The earlier OPs are associated with the on-components and the late OPs with the off-components in response to a brief stimulus of light. The postnatal appearance of the first oscillatory activity is preceded by the a- and b-waves. The earlier OPs appear postnatally prior to, and mature differently from, the later ones. The second section deals with present views on the origin of the OPs. These views are developed from experimental studies with the vertebrate retina including the primate retina and clinical studies. Findings favor the conclusion that the OPs reflect neuronal synaptic activity in inhibitory feedback pathways initiated by the amacrines in the inner retina. The bipolar (or the interplexiform) cells are the probable generators of the OPs. Dopaminergic neurons, probably amacrines (or interplexiform cells), are involved in the generation of the OPs. The earlier OPs are generated in neurons related to the on-pathway of the retina and the later ones to the off-channel system. Peptidergic neurons may be indirectly involved as modulators. The individual OPs seem to represent the activation of several retinal generators. The earlier OPs are more dependent on an intact rod function and the later ones on an intact cone system. Thus, the OPs are good indicators of neuronal adaptive mechanisms in the retina and are probably the only post-synaptic neuronal components that can be recorded in the ERG except when structured stimuli are used. The last section describes the usefulness of the oscillatory response as an instrument to study the postnatal development of neuronal adaptation of the retina. In this section clinical examples of of the sensitivity of the OPs for revealing early disturbance in neuronal function in different retinal diseases such as pediatric, vascular and degenerative retinopathies are also given.

Equivalence of background and bleaching desensitization in isolated rod photoreceptors of the larval tiger salamander

Psychophysical experiments have shown an equivalence between sensitivity reduction by background light and by bleaches for the human scotopic system. We have compared the effects of backgrounds and bleaches on the light-sensitive membrane-current responses of isolated rod photoreceptors from the salamander Ambystoma tigrinum. The quantum catch loss was factored out from the desensitization due to bleaching to give the fraction of "extra" desensitization due to adaptation. For backgrounds, desensitization is well described by the Weber/Fechner equation. The extra desensitization after bleaches can also be described by the Weber/Fechner equation, if an "equivalent" background produced by bleaching is made linearly proportional to the fraction of pigment bleached. A background which produces an extra desensitization of a factor of two is equivalent to a fractional bleach of approximately 6%. Equivalent background and bleaching desensitizations were associated with similar reductions in circulating current. There is a linear relation between log flash sensitivity and decrease in circulating current. Equivalent background and bleaching desensitizations were associated with similar increases in cGMP phosphodiesterase and guanylate cyclase activity. These were inferred from membrane current changes after steps into lithium or IBMX solutions. There were also similar reductions in the integration times of dim flash responses for equivalent desensitizations produced by backgrounds and bleaches. These results suggest that the equivalence between background and bleaching found psychophysically may arise at the very earliest stages of visual processing and that these two processes of desensitization have similar underlying mechanisms.

Long-term rod dark adaptation in man. Threshold measurements, rhodopsin regeneration and allosteric sensitivity regulation. An evaluation

Recent evidence strongly suggests that the relationship between threshold elevation (T) and fraction of bleached rhodopsin (B), obtained during a major, middle period of long-term rod dark adaptation in man, is well described by a power function, i.e., T = k.Bn, where k is a multiplicative constant and n is the exponent. Due primarily to the low reliability of measurements of rhodopsin regeneration, however, the exponent n of the power function cannot, at present, be given an exact value. Available information indicates that the value of the exponent ranges between 2.4 and 4. Implications of this uncertainty are discussed within the framework of the allosteric, tetrameric model of rod dark adaptation. It is concluded that this model in its simplest form may only offer a first approximation of the real system implicated in the process.

Noncovalent occupancy of the retinal-binding pocket of opsin diminishes bleaching adaptation of retinal cones

Bright light bleaches visual pigment and leads to a persistent desensitization of isolated rod and cone photoreceptors called bleaching adaptation. Bleaching adaptation results from the combined effects of pigment depletion and adaptational modulation of certain cellular reactions in the visual transduction cascade. Here, we present evidence that in solitary cone photoreceptors isolated from the salamander retina, the latter effect is due to the presence of free opsin in the outer segment. Also, we demonstrate that this "opsin adaptation" can be reversed by treating the cells with synthetic retinoids similar to 11-cis retinal but having polyene chains too short to form protonated Schiff base attachments to opsin.

Mechanisms of long-term dark adaptation

It has previously been suggested that long-term dark adaptation is controlled by bleaching signals that regulate the activity of an allosteric, positively cooperative protein (Stabell et al., 1986a, b). Recent biochemical evidence strongly supports this assumption, indicating that the primary regulator of the light-sensitive channels in the plasma membrane of the outer segments of the photoreceptors is a homo-oligomeric, allosteric, positively cooperative protein. In this report, we discuss the possibility that signals from bleached photopigments may control the dark-adaptation process through the allosteric protein of the plasma membrane. It is suggested that the concentrations of the bleached photopigment and of the allosteric effector are reciprocal quantities.

Light-dependent delay in the falling phase of the retinal rod photoresponse

Using suction electrodes, photocurrent responses to 100-ms saturating flashes were recorded from isolated retinal rods of the larval-stage tiger salamander (Ambystoma tigrinum). The delay period (Tc) that preceded recovery of the dark current by a criterion amount (3 pA) was analyzed in relation to the flash intensity (If), and to the corresponding fractional bleach (R*0/Rtot) of the visual pigment; R*0/Rtot was compared with R*s/Rtot, the fractional bleach at which the peak level of activated transducin approaches saturation. Over an approximately 8 ln unit range of I(f) that included the predicted value of R*s/Rtot, Tc increased linearly with ln I(f). Within the linear range, the slope of the function yielded an apparent exponential time constant (tau c) of 1.7 +/- 0.2 s (mean +/- S.D.). Background light reduced the value of Tc measured at a given flash intensity but preserved a range over which Tc increased linearly with ln I(f); the linear-range slope was similar to that measured in the absence of background light. The intensity dependence of Tc resembles that of a delay (Td) seen in light-scattering experiments on bovine retinas, which describes the period of essentially complete activation of transducin following a bright flash; the slope of the function relating Td and ln flash intensity is thought to reflect the lifetime of photoactivated visual pigment (R*) (Pepperberg et al., 1988; Kahlert et al., 1990). The present data suggest that the electrophysiological delay has a similar basis in the deactivation kinetics of R*, and that tau c represents TR*, the lifetime of R* in the phototransduction process. The results furthermore suggest a preservation of the "dark-adapted" value of TR* within the investigated range of background intensity.

Dark adaptation of the long-wave cones at different eccentricities

Using a Wright colorimeter the ordinary long-term, long-wave cone dark-adaptation curve was measured at 0, 2, 4, 7, 17, 25, 40 and 49 degrees nasally in the visual field. In opposition to previous findings, the results show that the dark-adaptation function of the long-wave cones changes markedly when the test field is moved outward from the rod-free fovea. It is suggested that the kinetics of the long-wave cone photopigment change with eccentricity. Also, at variance with previous findings, the present curves at all eccentricities may reasonably well be interpreted as consisting of three different sections; a first section where the threshold decreases rapidly, followed by a major, approximately linear section and a terminating section that converges asymptotically towards the final level of sensitivity. This finding suggests that the dark-adaptation process of the cone system, under the given experimental conditions, is based on three somewhat different processes.

Sensitization of bleached rod photoreceptors by 11-cis-locked analogues of retinal

Photoactivation of rhodopsin initiates both excitation and adaptation in vertebrate rod photoreceptors. Bleaching of rhodopsin to free opsin and all-trans-retinal in isolated rods produces a stable desensitization (bleaching adaptation) that is much larger than expected from pigment depletion alone. In our experiments, a 93% bleach produced a 500-fold increase in the light intensity required for saturation of the light response. This component of adaptation was 32-fold larger than the 16-fold increase expected from pigment depletion alone. 11-cis-Retinal, when delivered to isolated rods from liposomes, combines with free opsin to form a bleachable photopigment that fully restores sensitivity. 11-cis-Locked analogues of retinal combine with opsin to form unbleachable pigments in isolated bleached rods from the tiger salamander. They restore sensitivity to a substantial (16- to 25-fold) but incomplete extent. The analogues apparently relieve a stable component of adaptation when they interact with opsin. Because these analogues do not detectably excite rods, the structural requirements of both retinal and opsin for the relief of adaptation are different from those of excitation. The biochemical basis of light adaptation resulting from pigment bleaching and the minimum structural requirements of retinal for its relief remain to be determined.

Background and bleaching adaptation in luminosity type horizontal cells in the isolated turtle retina

1. The effects of background illumination and bleached photopigment on luminosity type horizontal cells were studied in the isolated turtle retina. 2. Background illumination, which produced less than 60% bleaching, hyperpolarized and desensitized the horizontal cells to a degree which depended upon the background intensity. The desensitization of horizontal cells by these backgrounds is described by a Weber-Fechner type relationship. This desensitization primarily reflects the activation of a 'gain reduction' mechanism and cannot be accounted for by 'response compression'. 3. Following the termination of these backgrounds, horizontal cell sensitivity partially recovered but did not return to the pre-background, dark-adapted level. This desensitization was attributed to the presence of bleached photoproducts which were produced by the background exposure. 4. Application of very bright backgrounds caused the horizontal cells to initially hyperpolarize, and then to gradually depolarize towards the dark-adapted level along an exponential time course which appeared to reflect the decreased quantal catching associated with very high levels of photopigment bleaching. 5. From the time constant of the exponential decay of horizontal cell potential during the bright background illumination, the photosensitivity to bleaching of the cone photopigment was determined to be 4.5 x 10(7) effective quanta (633 nm) microns-2. 6. After termination of bright backgrounds which bleached more than 99% of the cone photopigment, the horizontal cell sensitivity increased linearly with time and after 25 min reached a level which was about 15% of the pre-background sensitivity. 7. Bleached photopigment reduces light sensitivity via at least two different mechanisms. For moderate degrees of bleaching (less than 95%), the presence of bleached photoproducts plays the major role in sensitivity control, producing a desensitization which is logarithmically related to the fraction of bleached pigment. During extensive bleaching (greater than 99%), the contribution of reduced quantal catching to sensitivity control becomes apparent and produces an additional loss in sensitivity which is linearly related to the fraction of unbleached pigment present.

Dark-adaptation mechanisms of the long-wave foveal cones

The ordinary long-term rod and cone dark-adaptation curves have generally been assumed to follow a single exponential rate of recovery. However, in two previous papers on rod dark-adaptation (Stabell et al., 1986a, b), the recovery curve was found to consist of three different sections. The results of the present paper show the same type of recovery function with three different sections for the long-term dark-adaptation curve of the long-wave cone system. During the major, middle section log cone threshold, like log rod threshold, is linearly related to the logarithm of the concentration of bleached photopigment. Presupposing that the bleached cone photopigment acts as a ligand, the change in threshold level obtained during the middle section of the dark-adaptation curve is well described by the change in activity rate of an allosteric, postively cooperative enzyme built as a dimer.

Photoreceptor processes in visual adaptation

In this paper we have stressed two experimental results in need of explanation: (i) the reduced efficacy with which (remaining, abundant) rhodopsin in the light-adapted receptor mediates the flash response; and (ii) the disparity in conditions of irradiation (weak background vs. extensive bleaching) leading to equivalent conditions of threshold. The model discussed above suggests, in molecular terms, a possible basis for both properties of receptor adaptation. On the view developed here, property (i) derives from the ability of photoactivated or bleached pigment (R or B) to restrict dramatically the availability of a substance required for phototransduction. Property (ii) derives in large part from the pronounced disparity in the effectiveness of R (during illumination) and B (remaining after illumination) in reducing the availability of this substance. On this view, the "equivalence" of threshold elevation in states of light- vs. dark-adaptation derives from an overall equality of a product of factors (Q, Etot/Es, and J of equation 2). Under all but extreme conditions, this aggregate of factors is dominated by the term Etot/Es, reflecting the functional state of E.

The absence of spread of adaptation between rod photoreceptors in turtle retina

Adaptation by weak backgrounds and the spatial spread of desensitization between rods was studied in the snapping turtle retina, Chelydra serpentina. Intracellular membrane potentials were recorded from these photoreceptors in an eyecup preparation. The kinetics and sensitivity of rod responses were changed significantly by large, very dim backgrounds. For the twenty-five most sensitive rods where the dark-adapted flash sensitivity, SDF, was greater than 1.0 mV/Rh*, Rh* being the number of effective photo-isomerizations per rod, the background intensity required to halve the amplitude of the linear range response averaged 0.21 Rh* s-1. The time-to-peak of the test responses was reduced up to 50% by these dim backgrounds. The desensitizing effects of full field backgrounds of various intensities on the responses to large test spots were measured. The dependence of incremental flash sensitivity, SF, on background intensity, IB, followed the form (FORMULA: SEE TEXT) where I0 is the background intensity which halved SDF. The same intensity dependence held for slit-shaped background fields that desensitized responses to small test spots. The desensitizing effects of large, very dim flashed and continuous backgrounds took several seconds to appear and decay to dark levels. This in conjunction with the sparsity of photons suggests, that the desensitization from a single photoisomerization can persist for several seconds. A comparison of the desensitizing effects of spot and annular backgrounds revealed that small spot backgrounds superimposed on the centered test spots desensitized rods more effectively than annular fields. This finding held true even when annular patterns produced a greater maintained hyperpolarization in the rods. Thus, there was no unique relationship between desensitization and the steady maintained hyperpolarization evoked by a background field. The dependence of adaptation on distance from the impaled rod was determined with slit-shaped background fields placed at different positions across the rod's receptive field. The desensitizing effect of displaced slit stimuli was found to decline much more rapidly with distance than excitation. Displacing the slit by 20 micron from the centre reduced its desensitizing effect by more than 1 log unit. In contrast, excitation fell to about 80% at the same distance (lambda ranging from 50 to 70 micron). The fall off of desensitization with distance matched the calculated fall off with distance of light scatter from a slit. No difference was noted in the kinetics of test responses in the presence of equally desensitizing, superimposed and displaced slits.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Nucleoside triphosphates and hydrolysis-resistant analogues: effects on PIII responses in the isolated skate retina

Responses to test flashes were recorded extracellularly from the aspartate-treated, isolated retina of the skate, before and after topical application to the retina of solutions containing GTP, ATP, or certain hydrolysis-resistant analogues. When applied to strongly light-adapted retinas (greater than or equal to 87% bleached), the analogues p(CH2)ppG, p(NH)ppG and p(CH2)ppA induced sustained decreases in threshold of the PIII response. Similar treatment of light-adapted retinas with GTP or ATP also promoted decreases in threshold, but these changes appeared relatively transient. All of the test substances lacked significant activity when applied to dark-adapted (unbleached) retinas. The results are discussed in relation to other studies examining the effects of light on GTP- and ATP-dependent processes within the photoreceptors.

Rhodopsin photoproducts and the visual response of vertebrate rods

Flash responses of the photoreceptors in the isolated, all-rod retina of the skate were recorded extracellularly during exposure of the retina to relatively weak background light of fixed intensity. Under conditions expected to yield approximately constant levels of (previously) bleached visual pigment and transient bleaching intermediates, (quasi-)steady-state, increment receptor thresholds were examined in relation to the prevailing extent of rhodopsin bleaching. The results indicate that, at least for moderate bleaches, the change in log threshold associated with prior bleaching becomes smaller with increasing value of background intensity. This behavior of the increment threshold data is discussed in the context of a recent model (Pepperberg, 1984; Vision Res. 24, 357-366) linking values of photoreceptor threshold during light and dark adaptation with states of the visual pigment molecule.