Beelen CJ, Asteriti S, Cangiano L, Koch KW, Dell'Orco D. A hybrid stochastic/deterministic model of single photon response and light adaptation in mouse rods.
Comput Struct Biotechnol J 2021;
19:3720-34. [PMID:
34285774 DOI:
10.1016/j.csbj.2021.06.033]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2021] [Revised: 06/19/2021] [Accepted: 06/21/2021] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
A hybrid stochastic/deterministic model of mouse rod phototransduction is presented.
Rod photocurrent to photovoltage conversion in darkness is accurately characterized.
Photoresponses to dim and bright stimuli and in various mutants are well reproduced.
Recently debated molecular mechanisms of the phototransduction cascade are examined.
The phototransduction cascade is paradigmatic for signaling pathways initiated by G protein-coupled receptors and is characterized by a fine regulation of photoreceptor sensitivity and electrical response to a broad range of light stimuli. Here, we present a biochemically comprehensive model of phototransduction in mouse rods based on a hybrid stochastic and deterministic mathematical framework, and a quantitatively accurate description of the rod impedance in the dark. The latter, combined with novel patch clamp recordings from rod outer segments, enables the interconversion of dim flash responses between photovoltage and photocurrent and thus direct comparison with the simulations. The model reproduces the salient features of the experimental photoresponses at very dim and bright stimuli, for both normal photoreceptors and those with genetically modified cascade components. Our modelling approach recapitulates a number of recent findings in vertebrate phototransduction. First, our results are in line with the recently established requirement of dimeric activation of PDE6 by transducin and further show that such conditions can be fulfilled at the expense of a significant excess of G protein activated by rhodopsin. Secondly, simulations suggest a crucial role of the recoverin-mediated Ca2+-feedback on rhodopsin kinase in accelerating the shutoff, when light flashes are delivered in the presence of a light background. Finally, stochastic simulations suggest that transient complexes between dark rhodopsin and transducin formed prior to light stimulation increase the reproducibility of single photon responses. Current limitations of the model are likely associated with the yet unknown mechanisms governing the shutoff of the cascade.
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