Professor of Ophthalmology and Pharmacology and Cancer Biology

Education 

Moscow State University, PhD

Postdoctoral

University of Wisconsin

Email

vadim.arshavsky@duke.edu

Website

http://www.duke.edu/~arsha001

Phone

919-668-5391

Fax

919-684-3826

Research Interests

Vadim Arshavsky, PhD, conducts research on the molecular and cellular mechanisms of signal transduction. He uses vertebrate photoreceptor cells (sensory neurons specialized in the primary processing of light signals) because of the well-defined function of the cells and their unique suitability for modern multi-disciplinary approaches to examine the fundamental issues in molecular and cellular neuroscience, as well as in cell signaling in general. The results of his studies have included the first demonstration that the GTPase activity of a G protein could be activated by other regulatory proteins, the discovery of a novel adaptation mechanism based on massive light-dependent translocation of transducin between the major functional compartments of photoreceptors and, most recently, the discovery of R7 Binding Protein (R7BP) a novel neuronal-specific protein interacting with a family of regulators of G protein signaling in the brain.

Arshavsky has also focused on how the malfunctioning of signaling mechanisms in photoreceptors may impair vision or lead to retinal degeneration, as observed in retinitis pigmentosa and age-related macular degeneration. A recent example of this work in this direction is a multi-laboratory collaboration leading to identification of a novel disease, bradyopsia, characterized by patients' inability to adapt to bright light and see moving objects.

Representative Publications 

1. Leskov, I.B., Klenchin V.A., Handy, J.W., Whitlock, G.G., Govardovskii, V.I., Bownds, M.D., Lamb, T.D., Pugh, E.N., Jr., Arshavsky, V.Y. The gain of rod phototransduction: reconciliation of biochemcical and electrophysiological measurements. Neuron (2000) 27, 525-537.
2. Arshavsky, V.Y., Lamb, T.D., Pugh, E.N., Jr. G proteins and phototransduction. Ann. Rev. Physiol., (2002) 64, 153-187.
3. Sokolov, M., Lyubarsky, A.L., Strissel, K.J., Savchenko, A.B., Govardovskii, V.I., Pugh, E.N. Jr., Arshavsky, V.Y. Massive light-driven translocation of transducin between the two major compartments of rod cells: a novel mechanism of light adaptation. Neuron (2002) 34, 95-106.
4. Martemyanov, K.A., Hopp, J.A., Arshavsky, V.Y. Specificity of G protein – RGS protein recognition is regulated by affinity adapters. Neuron (2003) 38, 857-862.
5. Nishiguchi, M., Sandberg, M.A., Kooijman, A.C., Martemyanov, K.A., Pott, J.W.R., Hagstrom, S.A., Arshavsky, V.Y., Berson, E.L., Dryja, T.P. Defects in RGS9 or its anchor protein R9AP in patients with slow photoreceptor deactivation. Nature (2004) 427, 75–78.
6. Martemyanov, K.A., Yoo, P.J., Skiba, N.P., Arshavsky, V.Y. R7BP – a novel neuronal protein interacting with RGS proteins of the R7 family. J. Biol. Chem. (2005), 280, 5133-5136.
7. Burns, M.E., Arshavsky, V.Y. Beyond counting photons: trials and trends in vertebrate visual transduction. Neuron (2005) 48, 387–401.
8. Calvert, P.D., Strissel, K.J., Schiesser, W.E., Pugh, E.N., Jr., Arshavsky, V.Y. Light-driven translocation of signaling proteins in vertebrate photoreceptors. Trends Cell Biol. (2006) 16, 560-568.
9. Lobanova, E.S., Finkelstein, S., Song, H., Tsang, S.H., Chen, C.-K., Sokolov, M., Skiba, N.P., Arshavsky, V.Y. Transducin translocation in rods is triggered by saturation of the GTPase activating complex. J. Neurosci. (2007) 27, 1151–1160.