OPN3
Template:Short description Template:Infobox gene Opsin-3 also known as encephalopsin or panopsin[1] is a protein that, in humans, is encoded by the OPN3 gene.[2][3][4] Alternative splicing of this gene results in multiple transcript variants encoding different protein isoforms.[5]
Function
Opsins are members of the G protein-coupled receptor superfamily. In addition to the visual opsins, mammals possess several photoreceptive non-visual opsins that are expressed in tissues outside the eye. The opsin-3 gene is strongly expressed in brain and testis and weakly expressed in liver, placenta, heart, lung, skeletal muscle, kidney, and pancreas. The gene is expressed in the skin[5] and may also be expressed in the retina. The protein has the canonical features of a photoreceptive opsin protein,[4] however in human skin, OPN3 is not photoreceptive and acts as a negative regulator of melanogenesis.[6]
Applications
When OPN3 analogues are expressed in neurons, activation by light inhibits neurotransmitter release.[7][8] This makes these analogues useful tools for optogenetic silencing, a method to study the impact of specific neurons on brain function.
References
<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />
- ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
Further reading
<templatestyles src="Refbegin/styles.css" />
- Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
- Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
- Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
- Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
This article incorporates text from the United States National Library of Medicine, which is in the public domain.
Script error: No such module "Navbox".
Script error: No such module "Navbox".
Template:Transmembranereceptor-stub