Mathematical analysis of phototransduction reaction parameters in rods and cones.

Retinal photoreceptor cells, rods and cones, convert photons of light into chemical and electrical signals as the first step of the visual transduction cascade. Although the chemical processes in the phototransduction system are very similar to each other in these photoreceptors, the light sensitivity and time resolution of the photoresponse in rods are functionally different than those in the photoresponses of cones. To systematically investigate how photoresponses are divergently regulated in rods and cones, we have developed a detailed mathematical model on the basis of the Hamer model. The current model successfully reconstructed light intensity-, ATP- and GTP-dependent changes in concentrations of phosphorylated visual pigments (VPs), activated transducins (Tr*s) and phosphodiesterases (PDEs) in rods and cones. In comparison to rods, the lower light sensitivity of cones was attributed not only to the lower affinity of activated VPs for Trs but also to the faster desensitization of the VPs. The assumption of an intermediate inactive state, MIIi, in the thermal decay of activated VPs was essential for inducing faster inactivation of VPs in rods, and possibly also in cones.

Reproducing retinal rod bipolar cell light response by mathematical model including neurotransmitter receptors.

Detailed mathematical model of retinal cells is useful for the quantitative understanding of the subcellular processes of the visual system. Retinal bipolar cells receive information from photoreceptor cells, horizontal cells and amacrine cells, thus it can be considered as information integration system. Despite its importance, bipolar cell model including inputs and outputs has not been proposed. In this paper, we propose a rod bipolar cell model which can reproduce voltage response of light. The model includes TRPM1 channel which receives signal from photoreceptor cells, GABA channel which receives signal from surrounding amacrine cells, and cell body model which is based on the model proposed by Ishihara et al. The model was evaluated with several light signals, where experimentally obtained photoreceptor cell responses were used as TRPM1 channel input. Resulting bipolar cell membrane potential showed good agreement with the reported experimental results.