Discovery
The discovery of CNG channels is related to the discovery of intracellular messengers responsible for the mediation of responses in retinal photoreceptors. Before their discovery, it was thought that cyclic nucleotides played a role in phosphorylation. In 1985, it was discovered that cGMP was able to directly activate the light-dependent response of rod ion channels by studying light-adapted retina of frogs. CNG channels were also found in cone photoreceptors, chemo sensitive cilia of olfactory sensory neurons, and the pineal gland. After the identification of amino acids from purified proteins, cloning and functional expression of CNG channels were performed. Molecular cloning allowed for the discovery of similar channels in many other tissues. In 2000, scientists performed studies using mouse retina and molecular cloning to find a new subunit of the channel, CNG6.
Read more about this topic: Cyclic Nucleotide-gated Ion Channel
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