ArticleProceedings. Biological sciences2013
Human melanopsin forms a pigment maximally sensitive to blue light (λmax ≈ 479 nm) supporting activation of G(q/11) and G(i/o) signalling cascades.
Article in Proceedings. Biological sciences, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 179 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
179 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 309 citations in OpenAlex.
- Long-term night shift work and cardiometabolic health in healthcare workers: a review of mechanisms and precision intervention strategies.Frontiers in public health · 2026Pooled it
- The effect of light therapy on insomnia: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Sleep & breathing = Schlaf & Atmung · 2024Pooled it
- Effects of ultraviolet and blue-light filtering on sleep: a meta-analysis of controlled trials and studies on cataract patients.Eye (London, England) · 2021Pooled it
- Trial
- Difference in autonomic nervous effect of blue light depending on the angle of incidence on the eye.BMC research notes · 2020Trial
- Temporal integration of light flashes by the human circadian system.The Journal of clinical investigation · 2016Trial
- Spectral tuning and signaling of diverse and far red-sensitive rhodopsins in mantis shrimp eyes.Science advances · 2026Article
- Considerations and guidelines for photic measurement in field studies of the physiological effects of light.Npj biological timing and sleep · 2026Review
- Annual Solar Cycles: Investigating Seasonal Variations in Southern Norway and Their Potential Role in Human Eye Growth.Investigative ophthalmology & visual science · 2026Article
- Evaluation of wearable light dosimeters for circadian lighting: spectral, spatial, photometric, melanopic, and thermal performance.Npj biological timing and sleep · 2026Article
- The Circadian-Light-Hygiene Hypothesis: A Potential Modulator of Fertility and Birthrate Trends.Biology · 2026Review
- RGS proteins: Potential regulators of mouse melanopsin's signaling phototransduction cascade across ipRGC subtypes.Biophysical journal · 2026Article
- Article
- The Light-Eye-Brain Axis: Neurobiological Links Between Mood Disorders and Myopia-A Narrative Review.Ophthalmology and therapy · 2026Review
- Light Filtering Lenses and Visual Photosensitivity in Individuals With Traumatic Brain Injury.Investigative ophthalmology & visual science · 2026Article
- Home lighting, blue-light filtering, and their effects on melatonin suppression.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- The role of circadian rhythms in the pathogenesis of myopia.Frontiers in physiology · 2026Review
- Functional methods for evaluating the efficacy of retinal optogenetic therapy for vision restoration.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2026Review
- The physiological functions of OPN5m.Eye and vision (London, England) · 2025Review
- IMI: The Role of Light in Refractive Development and Myopia: Evidence from Animal and Human Studies.Investigative ophthalmology & visual science · 2025Review
119 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
A subset of mammalian retinal ganglion cells expresses an opsin photopigment (melanopsin, Opn4) and is intrinsically photosensitive. The human retina contains melanopsin, but the literature lacks a direct investigation of its spectral sensitivity or G-protein selectivity. Here, we address this deficit by studying physiological responses driven by human melanopsin under heterologous expression in HEK293 cells. Luminescent reporters for common second messenger systems revealed that light induces a high amplitude increase in intracellular calcium and a modest reduction in cAMP in cells expressing human melanopsin, implying that this pigment is able to drive responses via both Gq and Gi/o class G-proteins. Melanopsins from mouse and amphioxus had a similar profile of G-protein coupling in HEK293 cells, but chicken Opn4m and Opn4x pigments exhibited some Gs activity in addition to a strong Gq/11 response. An action spectrum for the calcium response in cells expressing human melanopsin had the predicted form for an opsin : vitamin A1 pigment and peaked at 479 nm. The G-protein selectivity and spectral sensitivity of human melanopsin is similar to that previously described for rodents, supporting the utility of such laboratory animals for developing methods of manipulating this system using light or pharmacological agents.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.