Vsevolod V. Gurevich
Vanderbilt University, TN·Biochemistry
Vision starts when light activates rhodopsin, the light-sensing protein in rod cells, the eye's dim-light photoreceptors. To stop the signal, rhodopsin is tagged with phosphate groups (phosphorylated).
- Fields
Biochemistry
Pharmacology
Neuroscience
- Topics
arrestin-1
visual arrestin
rhodopsin
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Apr 2028
What they work on
- Determine how arrestin-1 selectively binds light-activated, phosphorylated rhodopsin over its other forms, using direct binding assays with phosphorylated and unphosphorylated, light-activated and dark rhodopsin.
- Design enhanced arrestin-1 mutants that bind unphosphorylated light-activated rhodopsin, and test whether they compensate for phosphorylation defects in mice using electroretinography and single rod cell recordings.
- Identify new arrestin-1 partners in rod photoreceptors by proximity labeling with AirID, an enzyme that biotin-tags nearby proteins, followed by avidin purification and LC-MS/MS mass spectrometry.
More about the research
Arrestin-1 then binds and shuts it off. Arrestin-1 is remarkably selective. It binds strongly only to light-activated, phosphorylated rhodopsin and weakly to every other form. When phosphorylation fails, as in some human visual disorders, this shut-off step breaks down.
Why it matters
Some human visual disorders are caused by missing or insufficient rhodopsin phosphorylation. Enhanced arrestin-1 mutants that work without phosphorylation could have therapeutic potential for these conditions. Finding new arrestin-1 partners in rods may also reveal more about how photoreceptor cells function.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Arthur Salomon
University of California-San Francisco, CA·Biochemistry
Identify the binding partners of signaling proteins in T cell lines and primary mouse T cells, using TurboID, a labeling enzyme that tags nearby proteins in living cells, followed by mass spectrometry.
Samuel Wu
Baylor College of Medicine, TX·Neuroscience
Measure how electrical signals spread through the coupled network of rod photoreceptors, and how HCN ion channels shape this network behavior, using simultaneous multi-patch recordings.
Paul Bernstein
University of Utah, UT·Biochemistry
Test whether orally delivered synthetic VLC-PUFAs, retina-specific fats made by the enzyme ELOVL4, protect photoreceptor function, using mouse models, cell culture and model membranes.
The school
Vanderbilt University: 22 labs on PI Pages, $1.3B a year on research, 494 research doctorates a year.
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