The role of arrestins in visual and disease processes of the eye

Abstract

Visual arrestins are well known for their function in quenching the phototransduction process in rods and cones. Perhaps not as well known is their participation in multiple other processes in the normal and disease states of the eye. This chapter covers the range of the known functions of the visual arrestins, beginning with their classical role in quenching light-activated visual pigments. The role of visual arrestins is also reviewed from the perspective of their dynamic mobility whereby they redistribute significantly between the compartments of highly polarized photoreceptor cells. Additional roles of the visual arrestins are also reviewed based on new interacting partners that have been discovered over the past decade. Finally, the contribution of the visual arrestins to diseases of the visual system is explored.