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. 2019 Feb 20;19(1):55.
doi: 10.1186/s12886-019-1048-7.

Modeling and simulation of phototransduction cascade in vertebrate rod photoreceptors

Guofeng Pan  1 , Jinglu Tan  2 , Ya Guo  3   4
Affiliations

Modeling and simulation of phototransduction cascade in vertebrate rod photoreceptors

Guofeng Pan et al. BMC Ophthalmol. .

Abstract

Background: The activation of phototransduction cascade in rod photoreceptors has been well studied in literature, but there is a lack of a mature kinetic model structure covering both the activation and inactivation processes.

Methods: In this work, a kinetic model structure is developed to describe the major activation and inactivation processes in vertebrate rod photoreceptors with the electroretinogram (ERG) as output. Simulation was performed to validate developed model structure.

Results: The developed model structure could fit experimental data with small error.

Conclusions: The result indicated that the developed model structure could show the inactivation process of phototransduction cascades in the rod photoreceptors.

Keywords: ERG a wave; Kinetic model structure; Photoreceptor; Phototransduction; Rod.

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Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Major chemical reaction transition diagram (R-rhodopsin, R*-activated rhodopsin, G--G protein, G*-- activated G protein, E--phosphodiesterase or PDE, E*-- a single activated subunit of PDE, cG--cGMP, C1 and C2--intermediate complexes. Mass diffusion processes. u denotes light intensity. All the “k”s are reaction rates. Typically, they have the unit 1/s (first reaction kinetics) or mol/s (second reaction kinetics) depending on the unit used for the concentrations)
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
A comparison of averaged value of measured ERG data f(t) from healthy NOB1 mice with model prediction a and the fitting residual b
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
A comparison of averaged value of measured ERG data f(t) from photoreceptor-damaged NOB1 mice with model prediction a and the fitting residual b
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
A comparison of averaged value of measured ERG data f(t) from wild-type mice with model prediction a and the fitting residual b
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Simulation of rod photoreceptor response f(t) of a healthy NOB1 mouse for a longer time
Fig. 6
Fig. 6
Simulation of rod photoreceptor response f(t) of a photoreceptor-damaged NOB1 mouse for a longer time
Fig. 7
Fig. 7
Simulation of rod photoreceptor response f(t) of a wild-type mouse for a longer time
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