gms | German Medical Science

7th International Symposium on AMD: Age-related Macular Degeneration – Understanding Pathogenetic Mechanisms of Disease

20.09. - 21.09.2019, Baden-Baden

Article

Send article

Restoration of high-sensitivity and adapting vision with a cone opsin

Meeting Abstract

Search Medline for

  • John G. Flannery - Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California/USA
  • M.H. Berry - Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California/USA; Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Health and Sciences University Oregon/USA
  • A. Holt - Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California/USA
  • A. Salari - Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California/USA
  • J. Veit - Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California/USA; Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California/USA
  • M. Visel - Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California/USA
  • J. Levitz - Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California/USA; Department of Biochemistry, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York/USA
  • K. Aghi - Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California/USA
  • B. Gaub - Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California/USA; Department of Biosystems Science Engineering, ETH Zürich/CH
  • B. Sivyer - Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Health and Sciences University Oregon/USA; Oregon/USA
  • E. Isacoff - Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California/USA; Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California/USA; Bioscience Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley/USA

7th International Symposium on AMD: Age-related Macular Degeneration - Understanding Pathogenetic Mechanisms of Disease. Baden-Baden, 20.-21.09.2019. Düsseldorf: German Medical Science GMS Publishing House; 2020. Doc19amd30

doi: 10.3205/19amd30, urn:nbn:de:0183-19amd304

Published: February 5, 2020

© 2020 Flannery et al.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. See license information at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

Outline

Text

Inherited and age-related retinal degenerative diseases cause progressive loss of rod and cone photoreceptors, leading to blindness, but spare downstream retinal neurons, which can be targeted for optogenetic therapy. However, optogenetic approaches have been limited by either low light sensitivity or slow kinetics, and lack adaptation to changes in ambient light, and not been shown to restore object vision. We find that the vertebrate medium wavelength cone opsin (MW-opsin) overcomes these limitations and supports vision in dim light. MWopsin enables an otherwise blind retinitis pigmentosa mouse to discriminate temporal and spatial light patterns displayed on a standard LCD computer tablet, displays adaption to changes in ambient light, and restores open-field novel object exploration under incidental room light. By contrast, rhodopsin, which is similar in sensitivity but slower in light response and has greater rundown, fails these tests. Thus, MW-opsin provides the speed, sensitivity and adaptation needed to restore patterned vision.