INCORPORATION OF 11,12-DIHYDRORETINAL INTO THE RETINAE OF VITAMIN A DEPRIVED RATS

Abstract— The incorporation of 11,12-15–³H]-dihydroretinal, a retinal in which the crucial 11-ene is saturated, into the retinae of vitamin A deficient rats as a result of intraperitoneal injection of the corresponding alcohol was shown by the presence of the tritium label in the rod outer segments and by identification of the extracted retinals using high pressure liquid chromatography. The amplitude of the electroretinogram (ERG) b-wave, diminished as the result of vitamin A deprivation, was not affected by administration of the analogue, although similar treatment of deprived litter mates with trans retinal restored the ERG b-wave amplitude to a normal level.
The evidence that the analogue is bound to opsin forming 11,12-dihydrorhodopsin is as follows: (1) when incubated with 11- cis retinal, extracts from vitamin A deficient rats regenerate 1.4 nmol rhodopsin while extracts from rats deficient in vitamin A and supplemented with 11,12-dihydroretinal regenerate 0.6 nmol rhodopsin indicating binding of the dihydroretinal blocks rhodopsin regeneration. (2) 11,12-dihydroretinal is shown to remain unchanged in hexane-washed retinae after extraction with methylene chloride and (3) injection of retinal into animals previously injected with 11,12-dihydroretinal also fails to restore visual sensitivity as measured by the ERG b-wave. Our results indicate that the dihydro-chromophore occupies the same binding site as the natural 11- cis retinal and that occupation of the chromophore binding site of opsin is not sufficient to restore the visual sensitivity in a vitamin-A-deprived animal.