2005
DOI: 10.1016/j.plipres.2005.02.001
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The role of cholesterol in rod outer segment membranes

Abstract: The photoreceptor rod outer segment (ROS) provides a unique system in which to investigate the role of cholesterol, an essential membrane constituent of most animal cells. The ROS is responsible for the initial events of vision at low light levels. It consists of a stack of disk membranes surrounded by the plasma membrane. Light capture occurs in the outer segment disk membranes that contain the photopigment, rhodopsin. These membranes originate from evaginations of the plasma membrane at the base of the outer… Show more

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Cited by 112 publications
(99 citation statements)
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“…Cholesterol appears to be broadly distributed in all layers of the neural retina ( 24 ), although the inner plexiform layer is found to be relatively enriched in cholesterol compared with the outer segment layer (25)(26)(27)(28). However, in the outer segments of retinal rod photoreceptors, a gradient of cholesterol exists, with more cholesterol being present at the base (proximal to the inner segment) of the ROS than at the distal tip (proximal to the RPE) ( 27,29,30 ). When normalized to total phospholipid content, the cholesterol content from base to tip of the ROS can vary by nearly 6-fold.…”
Section: Some Initial Considerationsmentioning
confidence: 99%
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“…Cholesterol appears to be broadly distributed in all layers of the neural retina ( 24 ), although the inner plexiform layer is found to be relatively enriched in cholesterol compared with the outer segment layer (25)(26)(27)(28). However, in the outer segments of retinal rod photoreceptors, a gradient of cholesterol exists, with more cholesterol being present at the base (proximal to the inner segment) of the ROS than at the distal tip (proximal to the RPE) ( 27,29,30 ). When normalized to total phospholipid content, the cholesterol content from base to tip of the ROS can vary by nearly 6-fold.…”
Section: Some Initial Considerationsmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…The outer segment houses the components of the phototransduction cascade, which converts the energy of photons (absorbed by the visual pigment, rhodopsin) into an electrochemical signal in the fi rst steps of the visual process. A high-cholesterol environment, such as that present in the basal disks, has been found to reduce the effi ciency of the phototransduction cascade by hindering activation of rhodopsin and impairing the cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase activity that hydrolyzes cGMP [for a comprehensive review on the role of cholesterol in ROS membranes, see ( 30 )]. …”
Section: Some Initial Considerationsmentioning
confidence: 99%
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“…The importance of cholesterol for normal functioning of cell membranes may be because of its ability to alter properties of the phospholipid bilayer and (or) to interact directly with specific membrane proteins [1,2]. It has been reported earlier that changes in erythrocyte membrane cholesterol levels result in increased phosphatidylserine (PS) externalization [3].…”
Section: Introductionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…In the case of the ROS membrane, the visual pigment rhodopsin is estimated to account for at least 90% of the total integral membrane protein, and the lipid-toprotein mass ratio is approximately 1:1 (29). Rhodopsin packing density also has been correlated with alterations in membrane function (assessed by rhodopsin activation, which impacts efficiency of the phototransduction cascade) (37,38). However, our analyses showed that there was no significant alteration in the opsin-to-phospholipid ratio of ROS from AY9944-treated rats, compared with age-matched controls; hence, the protein packing density in ROS membranes was unaffected by AY9944 treatment.…”
Section: Discussionmentioning
confidence: 99%