EF hand-mediated Ca- and cGMP-signaling in photoreceptor synaptic terminals.

ABSTRACT: Photoreceptors, the light-sensitive receptor neurons of the retina, receive and transmit a plethora of visual informations from the surrounding world. Photoreceptors capture light and convert this energy into electrical signals that are conveyed to the inner retina. For synaptic communication with the inner retina, photoreceptors make large active zones that are marked by synaptic ribbons. These unique synapses support continuous vesicle exocytosis that is modulated by light-induced, graded changes of membrane potential. Synaptic transmission can be adjusted in an activity-dependent manner, and at the synaptic ribbons, Ca(2+)- and cGMP-dependent processes appear to play a central role. EF-hand-containing proteins mediate many of these Ca(2+)- and cGMP-dependent functions. Since continuous

SUBMITTER: Schmitz F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3289946 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature