My lab is interested in signal processing at the molecular and system level. We use the retina as a model system because it is accessible and it is perfectly organized allowing detailed investigation of synaptic mechanisms and network organization. In the retina, the synaptic complex from photoreceptors to second order cells (horizontal cells and ON and OFF bipolar cells) is highly specialized. The ON class of bipolar cells inverts the light signal that arrives from photoreceptor using the mGluR6 cascade. In this talk I will briefly describe the structural and chemical organization of the photoreceptor synaptic complex and expand on the effects of removing certain elements of the mGluR6 cascade.


Relevant papers:

Dhingra, A., Ramakrishnan, H., Neinstein, A., Fina, M.E., Xu, Y., Li, J., Chung, D.C., Lyubarsky, A., Vardi N. (2012) Gβ3 is Required for Normal Light ON Responses and Synaptic Maintenance. J. Neurosci. (in press).

Xu Y, Dhingra A, Fina ME, Koike C, Furukawa T, Vardi N. (2012) mGluR6 deletion renders the TRPM1 channel in retina inactive. JNeurophysiol. 107(3):948-http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22131384

Dhingra A, Jiang M, Wang TL, Lyubarsky A, Bar-Yehuda T, Pugh Jr EN, Sterling P, Birnbaumer L, and Vardi N (2002). Light response of retinal ON bipolar cells requires a specific splice variant of Gao. J Neurosci 22:4878-4884.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12077185


Less relevant to the talk

Dhingra A, Fina ME, Neinstein A, Ramsey DJ, Xu y, Fishman GA,. Alexander KR, Qian H, Peachey NS, Gregg RG, Vardi N (2011) Autoantibodies in melanoma-associated retinopathy target TRPM1 cation channels of retinal ON bipolar cells. J Neuroscie 31:3962-3967.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21411639

Xu Y, Sulaiman P, Feddersen R, Liu J, Smith RG, Vardi N (2008) Retinal ON bipolar cells express a new PCP2 splice variant that accelerates the light response. J. Neurosci 28:8873-8884.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18768681