ArticleProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America1998
Melanopsin: An opsin in melanophores, brain, and eye.
Article in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 1998. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 335 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
335 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 970 citations in OpenAlex.
- Human melanopsin (OPN4) gene polymorphisms: a systematic review.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2025Pooled it
- The expression of opsins in the human skin and its implications for photobiomodulation: A Systematic Review.Photodermatology, photoimmunology & photomedicine · 2020Pooled it
- Decreased sleep quality in high myopia children.Scientific reports · 2016Trial
- Temporal integration of light flashes by the human circadian system.The Journal of clinical investigation · 2016Trial
- Unlocking the potential of circadian biology for cardiovascular health.Physiological reviews · 2026Review
- Circadian clock control of breast cancer hallmarks: molecular mechanisms and therapeutic implications.Cancer metastasis reviews · 2026Review
- Opposing Roles of OPN3 and OPN5 Affecting the Intrinsic Pupillary Light Reflex of the Mammalian Iris.Investigative ophthalmology & visual science · 2026Article
- Review
- Light and myopia: a focus on the expanding role of non-visual opsins.Eye and vision (London, England) · 2026Review
- Article
- Non-visual opsins and their role in circadian photoentrainment.Eye and vision (London, England) · 2026Review
- Discovery and design of photocyclic animal opsins: potential application to gene therapy from non-visual opsin research.Eye and vision (London, England) · 2025Review
- IMI-Interventions for Controlling Myopia Onset and Progression 2025.Investigative ophthalmology & visual science · 2025Review
- Spectral Tuning in Mammalian Melanopsins.Molecular biology and evolution · 2025Article
- Article
- Article
- It Is Time to Consider the Lost Battle of Microdamaged Piezo2 in the Context ofInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Melanocytes and photosensory organs share a common ancestry that illuminates the origins of the neural crest.Communications biology · 2025Article
- Retinal ganglion cell migration and viability requires the kinase LKB1.The Journal of cell biology · 2025Article
- Uncovering the Characteristics of Pupil Cycle Time (PCT) in Neuropathies and Retinopathies.Vision (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
275 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
5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
We have identified an opsin, melanopsin, in photosensitive dermal melanophores of Xenopus laevis. Its deduced amino acid sequence shares greatest homology with cephalopod opsins. The predicted secondary structure of melanopsin indicates the presence of a long cytoplasmic tail with multiple putative phosphorylation sites, suggesting that this opsin's function may be finely regulated. Melanopsin mRNA is expressed in hypothalamic sites thought to contain deep brain photoreceptors and in the iris, a structure known to be directly photosensitive in amphibians. Melanopsin message is also localized in retinal cells residing in the outermost lamina of the inner nuclear layer where horizontal cells are typically found. Its expression in retinal and nonretinal tissues suggests a role in vision and nonvisual photoreceptive tasks, such as photic control of skin pigmentation, pupillary aperture, and circadian and photoperiodic physiology.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.