In the twenty-first century, we are just beginning to understand more clearly the enormous diversity and complexity of signaling processes in the retina. Integrating advances in the biochemistry, cell biology, physiology, and physics of phototransduction, Signal Transduction in the Retina presents the methodologies and experimental approache

The main purpose of this volume is to provide a focused analysis of the function of the G protein-coupled signaling pathways that operate in the interconnected network of retinal neurons as they detect and encode the information carried by light. The organization of this volume will generally follow the path of signal flow in the retina. First we will describe recent advances in understanding the phototransduction cascade of rod and cone photoreceptors, which use signaling cascade based on the GPCR rhodopsin to transduce incident light into neural activity. Chapters will be devoted to unique specializations of the two major types of photosensitive cells that comprise the predominant input for our spatial and color vision. Subsequently, the mechanisms of synaptic information encoding by retinal ON bipolar cells will be described, where the GPCR mGluR6 plays a fundamental role. Chapters in this section will examine macromolecular organization of the mGluR6 signaling pathway as well as current understanding of its function. The functional characteristics of this signaling mechanism will be explored in detail. Additionally, this section will cover the role of dopamine receptors in modulating signal transmission between photoreceptors and ON-bipolar cells. Finally, chapters will be focused on the output neurons of the inner retina, ganglion cells, where the components of the emerging GPCR melanopsin cascade in intrinsically photosensitive ganglion cells will be detailed. Collectively these mechanisms allow the retina to represent visual space over a wide range of light intensities.

Signal Transduction is a text reference on cellular signalling processes. Starting with the basics, it explains how cells respond to external cues (hormones, cytokines, neurotransmitters, adhesion molecules, extracellular matrix etc), and shows how these inputs are integrated and co-ordinated. The first half of the book provides the conceptual framework, explaining the formation and action of second messengers, particularly cyclic nucleotides and calcium, and the mediation of signal pathways by GTP-binding proteins. The remaining chapters deal with the formation of complex signalling cascades employed by cytokines and adhesion molecules, starting at the membrane and ending in the nucleus, there to regulate gene transcription. In this context, growth is an important potential outcome and this has relevance to the cellular transformations that underlie cancer. The book ends with a description at the molecular level of how signalling proteins interact with their environment and with each other through their structural domains. Each main topic is introduced with a historical essay, detailing the sources, key observations and experiments that set the scene for recent and current work.

This book reveals not only how the eye evolved into an organ of vision, but also describes how molecular mechanisms of key molecules operate in the phototransduction cascade. In this groundbreaking text, experts also explain mechanisms for sensing radiation outside of the visible wavelengths. Comprehensive and penetrating, the book brings together the mechanisms of the visual transduction cascade and is an invaluable text for everyone conducting research in the visual system.

This book provides the reader with background information on neurotransmitter release. Emphasis is placed on the rationale by which proteins are assigned specific functions rather than just providing facts about function.

Arguably no other field of biological research embraces such a diverse array of experimental approaches as does the field of calcium signaling. Not only does it span virtually all conceptual and technical areas of molecular and cell biology, but a number of unique techniques, such as the use of permeabilized cells to study intracellular calcium metabolism, have evolved directly from calcium research. Calcium Signaling explores this fascinating area of research, covering the biophysical, molecular biological, and cell biological techniques involved in the study of calcium signaling. This work examines a broad range of topics-from techniques for imaging and measuring calcium in subcellular compartments, to subcellular fractionation and intracellular calcium stores, and patch clamp investigation of calcium channels. Filled with detailed illustrations, Calcium Signaling addresses those key methodological approaches that are useful to scientists and researchers investigating calcium function and regulation in many diverse areas of biological and medical research.