SIGNAL-TRANSDUCTION IN THE RETINA AND INHERITED RETINOPATHIES

In this paper, an attempt is made to highlight some of the recent deve lopments in genetics to understand the group of inherited eye disorder s referred to as retinitis pigmentosa (RP). Of the seven genes identif ied, six are expressed specifically in the photoreceptor cells and fou r encode the enzymes involved in the phototransduction pathway. A shor t discussion is presented of the tremendous phenotypic heterogeneity. An understanding of RP requires knowledge of other genetic and environ mental factors as well as tests to measure the status of the patient's photoreceptor cells in various disease stages.