Retinal protein synthesis in relationship to environmental lighting

Journal Article · Mon Nov 01 04:00:00 EST 1982 · Invest. Ophthalmol. Visual Sci.; (United States)

OSTI ID:6562156

Hollyfield, J G; Anderson, R E

A series of in vivo and in vitro experiments using Xenopus laevis juvenile toads was conducted to probe the relationship between environmental lighting and protein synthesis in the retina. Autoradiographic and biochemical analyses indicated that measurable changes in protein synthesis did not occur during a normal diurnal cycle when animals were conditioned to 12 hr light followed by 12 hr darkness each day (LD). However, when retinas from animals maintained in continuous darkness (DD) for 3 days were incubated with /sup 3/H-leucine, there was a 40% reduction in the specific radioactivity of total retinal proteins compared with retinas from animals maintained in continuous light (LL) for 3 days or on the LD cycle. Retinas from DD animals injected with /sup 3/H-leucine showed a 48% reduction in protein synthesis compared with retinas of LL animals. In autoradiographs of retinas from in vivo or in vitro experiments, grain counts were 40% lower in the total retinas of the DD animals compared with retinas of LL animals. This reduction occurred throughout the entire retina and was not restricted to any specific cell type. There was also a 35% reduction in the rate of radioactive band displacement in the rod outer segments of DD animals, although the percent of /sup 3/H-leucine incorporated into opsin relative to total retinal protein was the same for both groups. We conclude from these studies that fluctuations in the rate of protein synthesis during the normal light-dark cycle are not detectable. However, major differences in protein synthesis are evident when animals are stressed with continuous darkness for several days. This effect is not restricted to any particular retinal layer but occurs throughout the entire retina. Moreover, prolonged darkness affects protein synthesis in extraocular tissues as well.

• Research Organization: Cullen Eye Institute, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX
• OSTI ID: 6562156
• Journal Information: Invest. Ophthalmol. Visual Sci.; (United States), Journal Name: Invest. Ophthalmol. Visual Sci.; (United States) Vol. 23:5; ISSN IOVSD
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
AMINO ACIDS
AMPHIBIANS
ANIMALS
AQUATIC ORGANISMS
AUTORADIOGRAPHY
BIOCHEMISTRY
BIOLOGICAL PATHWAYS
BIOSYNTHESIS
BODY
BODY AREAS
CARBOXYLIC ACIDS
CHEMISTRY
ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION
ENERGY SYSTEMS
EYES
FACE
HEAD
ISOTOPE APPLICATIONS
LABELLED COMPOUNDS
LEUCINE
LIGHTING SYSTEMS
MEDICINE
OPHTHALMOLOGY
ORGANIC ACIDS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANS
PHYSIOLOGY
PROTEINS
RADIATIONS
RETINA
SENSE ORGANS
SYNTHESIS
TIME DEPENDENCE
TOADS
TRITIUM COMPOUNDS
VERTEBRATES
VISIBLE RADIATION