W. Clay Smith, PhD
Research Statement:
Eyes are exquisitely sensitive detectors, capable of registering a single photon of light. In my lab, we are “visionaries,” focusing on how eyes achieve this amazing quantum detection ability. Our primary interests cover the biochemistry and cellular biology of the early events in this process-- how the eye captures photons, and how this information is reliably translated into a signal that can be utilized by the brain to form an image. Since defects in this process often lead to visual complications, such as retinal degeneration and stationary night blindness, we anticipate that our studies will lead to therapies for these associated diseases.
In my lab, we utilize the tools of molecular biology, protein chemistry, structural biology, and cell biology.
Recent Publications:
- Ascano MT, Smith WC, Gregurick SK, Robinson PR (2005) Characterization of arrestin residues involved in the functional binding of arrestin to phosphorylated, photolyzed rhodopsin. Molec. Vision 12: 1516-1525.
- Reidel B, Orisme W, Goldmann T, Smith WC, Wolfrum W (2006) Molecular movements of arrestin and transducin studied in photoreceptors of organotypic cultures of mature vertebrate retinas. Vision Res. 46: 4464-4471.
- Sommer ME, Smith WC, Farrens D (2006) Dynamics of arrestin-rhodopsin interactions: acidic phospholipids enable binding of arrestin to purified rhodopsin in detergent. J Biol Chem. 281: 9407-9417.
- Peterson JJ, Orisme W, Fellows J, McDowell JH, Shelamer CL, Dugger DR, Smith WC (2005) A role for cytoskeletal elements in the light-driven translocation of proteins in rod photoreceptors. Invest. Opthalmol. Vis. Sci. 46: 3988-3998.
- Sommer ME, Smith WC, Farrens D (2005) Dynamics of arrestin-rhodopsin interactions: arrestin and retinal release are directly linked events. J Biol Chem. 280: 6861-6871.
- Smith WC, Dinculescu A, Peterson JJ, McDowell JH (2004) The surface of visual arrestin that binds to rhodopsin. Molec. Vision 10: 392-398.
Peterson JJ, Tam BM, Moritz OL, Shelamer CL, Dugger DR, McDowell JH, Hargrave PA, Papermaster DS, Smith WC (2003) Arrestin migrates in photoreceptors in response to Light: A study of arrestin localization using an arrestin-GFP fusion protein in transgenic frogs. Exp. Eye Res. 76: 553-563.
