Skip to main content
The Journal of General Physiology logoLink to The Journal of General Physiology
. 1981 Jan 1;77(1):41–48. doi: 10.1085/jgp.77.1.41

Influence of calcium on guanosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate levels in frog rod outer segments

PMCID: PMC2215414  PMID: 6259273

Abstract

In the presence of 10(-9) M calcium, rod outer segments freshly detached from dark-adapted frog retinas contain between 0.01 and 0.02 moles of guanosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cyclic GMP) per mole of rhodopsin. The dark level of cyclic GMP is reduced approximately 50% by illumination that bleaches 5 x 10(5) rhodopsin molecules/outer segments. The dark levels of cyclic GMP also can be suppressed to approximately 0.007 mol/mol of rhodopsin by increasing the concentration of calcium from 10(-9) M to 2 x 10(-9) M, and they remain at this level as calcium concentration is raised to 10(-3) M. The final level to which illumination reduces cyclic GMP in unaffected by the calcium concentration between 10(-9) and 10(-3) M. The maximal light- induced decrease in cyclic GMP occurs within 1 s from the onset of illumination at all calcium concentrations. The magnitude and time- course of the light-induced decrease in cyclic GMP measured in these experiments are comparable to values obtained previously (Woodruff et al. 1977. J. Gen. Physiol. 69:677-679; Woodruff and Bownds. 1979. J. Gen. Physiol. 73:629-653). The data are consistent with a role for cyclic GMP in visual transduction irrespective of the calcium concentration.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (473.4 KB).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Baylor D. A., Lamb T. D., Yau K. W. The membrane current of single rod outer segments. J Physiol. 1979 Mar;288:589–611. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Bownds D., Gordon-Walker A., Gaide-Huguenin A. C., Robinson W. Characterization and analysis of frog photoreceptor membranes. J Gen Physiol. 1971 Sep;58(3):225–237. doi: 10.1085/jgp.58.3.225. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Brodie A. E., Bownds D. Biochemical correlates of adaptation processes in isolated frog photoreceptor membranes. J Gen Physiol. 1976 Jul;68(1):1–11. doi: 10.1085/jgp.68.1.1. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Cohen A. I., Hall I. A., Ferrendelli J. A. Calcium and cyclic nucleotide regulation in incubated mouse retinas. J Gen Physiol. 1978 May;71(5):595–612. doi: 10.1085/jgp.71.5.595. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Fain G. L. Sensitivity of toad rods: Dependence on wave-length and background illumination. J Physiol. 1976 Sep;261(1):71–101. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.1976.sp011549. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Farber D. B., Lolley R. N. Cyclic guanosine monophosphate: elevation in degenerating photoreceptor cells of the C3H mouse retina. Science. 1974 Nov 1;186(4162):449–451. doi: 10.1126/science.186.4162.449. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Hubbell W. L., Bownds M. D. Visual transduction in vertebrate photoreceptors. Annu Rev Neurosci. 1979;2:17–34. doi: 10.1146/annurev.ne.02.030179.000313. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Kilbride P. Calcium effects on frog retinal cyclic guanosine 3', 5'-monophosphate levels and their light-initiated rate of decay. J Gen Physiol. 1980 Apr;75(4):457–465. doi: 10.1085/jgp.75.4.457. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Kilbride P., Ebrey T. G. Light-initiated changes of cyclic guanosine monophosphate levels in the frog retina measured with quick-freezing techniques. J Gen Physiol. 1979 Sep;74(3):415–426. doi: 10.1085/jgp.74.3.415. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Liebman P. A., Pugh E. N., Jr The control of phosphodiesterase in rod disk membranes: kinetics, possible mechanisms and significance for vision. Vision Res. 1979;19(4):375–380. doi: 10.1016/0042-6989(79)90097-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Normann R. A., Werblin F. S. Control of retinal sensitivity. I. Light and dark adaptation of vertebrate rods and cones. J Gen Physiol. 1974 Jan;63(1):37–61. doi: 10.1085/jgp.63.1.37. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Orr H. T., Lowry O. H., Cohen A. I., Ferrendelli J. A. Distribution of 3':5'-cyclic AMP and 3':5'-cyclic GMP in rabbit retina in vivo: selective effects of dark and light adaptation and ischemia. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1976 Dec;73(12):4442–4445. doi: 10.1073/pnas.73.12.4442. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Robinson P. R., Kawamura S., Abramson B., Bownds M. D. Control of the cyclic GMP phosphodiesterase of frog photoreceptor membranes. J Gen Physiol. 1980 Nov;76(5):631–645. doi: 10.1085/jgp.76.5.631. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Steiner A. L., Pagliara A. S., Chase L. R., Kipnis D. M. Radioimmunoassay for cyclic nucleotides. II. Adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate and guanosine 3',5'-monophosphate in mammalian tissues and body fluids. J Biol Chem. 1972 Feb 25;247(4):1114–1120. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Weinryb I., Michel I. M., Hess S. M. Radioimmunoassay of cyclic AMP without precipitating antibody. Anal Biochem. 1972 Feb;45(2):659–663. doi: 10.1016/0003-2697(72)90229-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Woodruff M. L., Bownds D., Green S. H., Morrisey J. L., Shedlovsky A. Guanosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate and the in vitro physiology of frog photoreceptor membranes. J Gen Physiol. 1977 May;69(5):667–679. doi: 10.1085/jgp.69.5.667. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Woodruff M. L., Bownds M. D. Amplitude, kinetics, and reversibility of a light-induced decrease in guanosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate in frog photoreceptor membranes. J Gen Physiol. 1979 May;73(5):629–653. doi: 10.1085/jgp.73.5.629. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Yee R., Liebman P. A. Light-activated phosphodiesterase of the rod outer segment. Kinetics and parameters of activation and deactivation. J Biol Chem. 1978 Dec 25;253(24):8902–8909. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from The Journal of General Physiology are provided here courtesy of The Rockefeller University Press

RESOURCES