A number of studies have shown that oxidative stress can be harmful for the retina. The real causal circumstances that lead to degenerative diseases like age related macular degeneration remain obscure. Whether light ...A number of studies have shown that oxidative stress can be harmful for the retina. The real causal circumstances that lead to degenerative diseases like age related macular degeneration remain obscure. Whether light induced radical stress is a direct interaction of light with photoreceptors or a secondary mechanism within the pigment epithelium or choroid is in discussion. Among the molecular mechanisms involved are production of reactive oxygen species(ROS), secondary lipid peroxidation, protein oxidation and DNA-damage. The initial trigger to write this review was first a recent finding of our group that the photoreceptor outer segments produce great amounts of ROS and second the detection of ectopic enzymes of the respiratory chainlocalized there- in addition to the hitherto known ROS sources like the visual pigments with their intermediates and the photoreceptor mitochondria harbouring the respiratory chain.展开更多
The phototropins phot1 and phot2 are plant blue-light receptors that mediate phototropism, chloroplast movements, stomatal opening, leaf expansion, the rapid Inhibition of hypocotyl growth in etiolated seedlings, and ...The phototropins phot1 and phot2 are plant blue-light receptors that mediate phototropism, chloroplast movements, stomatal opening, leaf expansion, the rapid Inhibition of hypocotyl growth in etiolated seedlings, and possibly solar tracking by leaves in those species in which It occurs. The phototroplns are plasma membrane-associated hydrophilic proteins with two chromophore domains （designated LOV1 and LOV2 for their resemblance to domains In other signaling proteins that detect light, oxygen, or voltage） in their Nterminal half and a classic serine/threonlne kinase domain in their C-terminal half. Both chromophore domains bind flavin mononucleotide （FMN） and both undergo light-activated formation of a covalent bond between a nearby cystelne and the C（4a） carbon of the FMN to form the signaling state. LOV2-cystelnyl adduct formation leads to the release downstream of a tightly bound amphlpathlc α-helix, a step required for activation of the klnase function. This cysteinyl adduct then slowly decays over a matter of seconds or minutes to return the photoreceptor chromophore modules to their ground state. Functional LOV2 is required for light-activated phosphorylation and for various blue-light responses mediated by the phototroplns. The function of LOV1 is still unknown, although It may serve to modulate the signal generated by LOV2. The LOV domain Is an ancient chromophore module found In a wide range of otherwise unrelated proteins In fungi and prokaryotes, the latter Including cyanobacterla, eubacterla, and archaea. Further general reviews on the phototropins are those by Celaya and Liscum （2005） and Christie and Briggs （2005）.展开更多
Optogenetics is an emerging field that combines optical and genetic approaches to non-invasively interfere with cellular events with exquisite spatiotemporal control. Although it arose originally from neuroscience, op...Optogenetics is an emerging field that combines optical and genetic approaches to non-invasively interfere with cellular events with exquisite spatiotemporal control. Although it arose originally from neuroscience, optogenetics is widely applicable to the study of many different biological systems and the range of applications arising from this tech- nology continues to increase. Moreover, the repertoire of light-sensitive proteins used for devising new optogenetic tools is rapidly expanding. Light, Oxygen, or Voltage sensing （LOV） and Blue-Light-Utilizing flavin adenine dinucleotide （FAD） （BLUF） domains represent new contributors to the optogenetic toolkit. These small （100-140-amino acids） flavoprotein modules are derived from plant and bacterial photoreceptors that respond to UV-A/blue light. In recent years, considerable progress has been made in uncovering the photoactivation mechanisms of both LOV and BLUF domains. This knowledge has been applied in the design of synthetic photoswitches and fluorescent reporters with applications in cell biology and biotechnology. In this review, we summarize the photochemical properties of LOV and BLUF photosensors and highlight some of the recent advances in how these flavoproteins are being employed to artificially regulate and image a variety of biological processes.展开更多
文摘A number of studies have shown that oxidative stress can be harmful for the retina. The real causal circumstances that lead to degenerative diseases like age related macular degeneration remain obscure. Whether light induced radical stress is a direct interaction of light with photoreceptors or a secondary mechanism within the pigment epithelium or choroid is in discussion. Among the molecular mechanisms involved are production of reactive oxygen species(ROS), secondary lipid peroxidation, protein oxidation and DNA-damage. The initial trigger to write this review was first a recent finding of our group that the photoreceptor outer segments produce great amounts of ROS and second the detection of ectopic enzymes of the respiratory chainlocalized there- in addition to the hitherto known ROS sources like the visual pigments with their intermediates and the photoreceptor mitochondria harbouring the respiratory chain.
基金Supported by the National Science Foundation, USA, grants MCB 0091384 and 0444504 to WRB, MCB0444390 to RAB, and by the UK Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, grant BB/C000366/1 to JMC. Publication of this paper is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China （30624808） and Science Publication Foundation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
文摘The phototropins phot1 and phot2 are plant blue-light receptors that mediate phototropism, chloroplast movements, stomatal opening, leaf expansion, the rapid Inhibition of hypocotyl growth in etiolated seedlings, and possibly solar tracking by leaves in those species in which It occurs. The phototroplns are plasma membrane-associated hydrophilic proteins with two chromophore domains （designated LOV1 and LOV2 for their resemblance to domains In other signaling proteins that detect light, oxygen, or voltage） in their Nterminal half and a classic serine/threonlne kinase domain in their C-terminal half. Both chromophore domains bind flavin mononucleotide （FMN） and both undergo light-activated formation of a covalent bond between a nearby cystelne and the C（4a） carbon of the FMN to form the signaling state. LOV2-cystelnyl adduct formation leads to the release downstream of a tightly bound amphlpathlc α-helix, a step required for activation of the klnase function. This cysteinyl adduct then slowly decays over a matter of seconds or minutes to return the photoreceptor chromophore modules to their ground state. Functional LOV2 is required for light-activated phosphorylation and for various blue-light responses mediated by the phototroplns. The function of LOV1 is still unknown, although It may serve to modulate the signal generated by LOV2. The LOV domain Is an ancient chromophore module found In a wide range of otherwise unrelated proteins In fungi and prokaryotes, the latter Including cyanobacterla, eubacterla, and archaea. Further general reviews on the phototropins are those by Celaya and Liscum （2005） and Christie and Briggs （2005）.
文摘Optogenetics is an emerging field that combines optical and genetic approaches to non-invasively interfere with cellular events with exquisite spatiotemporal control. Although it arose originally from neuroscience, optogenetics is widely applicable to the study of many different biological systems and the range of applications arising from this tech- nology continues to increase. Moreover, the repertoire of light-sensitive proteins used for devising new optogenetic tools is rapidly expanding. Light, Oxygen, or Voltage sensing （LOV） and Blue-Light-Utilizing flavin adenine dinucleotide （FAD） （BLUF） domains represent new contributors to the optogenetic toolkit. These small （100-140-amino acids） flavoprotein modules are derived from plant and bacterial photoreceptors that respond to UV-A/blue light. In recent years, considerable progress has been made in uncovering the photoactivation mechanisms of both LOV and BLUF domains. This knowledge has been applied in the design of synthetic photoswitches and fluorescent reporters with applications in cell biology and biotechnology. In this review, we summarize the photochemical properties of LOV and BLUF photosensors and highlight some of the recent advances in how these flavoproteins are being employed to artificially regulate and image a variety of biological processes.
