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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2019 Mar 1.
Published in final edited form as: Photochem Photobiol. 2018 Jan 19;94(2):199–212. doi: 10.1111/php.12864

Figure 2. Proposed activation of TRP (transient receptor potential) ion channels by blue/green light or 980 nm NIR.

Figure 2

It is proposed that blue light (in the region of 420 nm) or green light in the region of 540 nm can activate opsins such as melanopsin (OPN5) by a cis-trans retinal isomerization. Activation of OPN5 can in turn, open TRPV calcium ion channels via GαQ, phospholipase C and phosphoinositide signaling. Alternatively, NIR light in the region of 980 nm may directly perturb the conformational structure of TRPV channels via absorption by nanostructured water.