guanylate cyclase 2D, retinal
Last updated 6 Oct 2022
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The GUCY2D gene provides instructions for making a protein that plays an essential role in normal vision. This protein is found in the retina, which is the specialized tissue at the back of the eye that detects light and colour. Within the retina, the GUCY2D protein is located in light-detecting cells called photoreceptors. The retina contains two types of photoreceptor cells: rods and cones. Rods are needed for vision in low light, while cones are needed for vision in bright light, including colour vision.
Normal function
The GUCY2D gene provides instructions for making a protein that plays an essential role in normal vision. This protein is found in the retina, which is the specialized tissue at the back of the eye that detects light and colour. Within the retina, the GUCY2D protein is located in light-detecting cells called photoreceptors. The retina contains two types of photoreceptor cells: rods and cones. Rods are needed for vision in low light, while cones are needed for vision in bright light, including colour vision.
The GUCY2D protein is involved in a process called phototransduction. When light enters the eye, it stimulates specialized pigments called opsins that "hold" a vitamin A molecule in photoreceptor cells. This stimulation triggers a series of chemical reactions that close the open channel in the cell membranes of rod and cone cells. This closure produces an electrical signal, which is then interpreted by the brain as vision.
Once photoreceptors have been stimulated by light, they must return to their resting (or "dark") state before they can be stimulated again. The GUCY2D protein is involved in a chemical reaction that re-opens the cell membrane channels that helps return photoreceptors to their dark state after light exposure.
Conditions referring to this gene or chromosome
Other names
CORD6
CYGD
guanylate cyclase 2D, membrane (retina-specific)
GUC1A4
GUC2D
GUC2D_HUMAN
LCA1
RCD2
retGC
RETGC-1
RETGC1
retinal guanylyl cyclase 1
rod outer segment membrane guanylate cyclase
ROS-GC
ROS-GC1
ROSGC
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Further reading and references
- guanylate cyclase 2D, retinal; MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine.
- Boulanger-Scemama E, El Shamieh S, Demontant V, Condroyer C, Antonio A, Michiels C, Boyard F, Saraiva JP, Letexier M, Souied E, Mohand-Said S, Sahel JA, Zeitz C, Audo I. Next-generation sequencing applied to a large French cone and cone-rod dystrophy cohort: mutation spectrum and new genotype-phenotype correlation. Orphanet J Rare Dis. 2015 Jun 24;10:85. doi: 10.1186/s13023-015-0300-3.
- Boye SE. Leber congenital amaurosis caused by mutations in GUCY2D. Cold Spring Harb Perspect Med. 2014 Sep 25;5(1):a017350. doi: 10.1101/cshperspect.a017350.
- Hanein S, Perrault I, Olsen P, Lopponen T, Hietala M, Gerber S, Jeanpierre M, Barbet F, Ducroq D, Hakiki S, Munnich A, Rozet JM, Kaplan J. Evidence of a founder effect for the RETGC1 (GUCY2D) 2943DelG mutation in Leber congenital amaurosis pedigrees of Finnish origin. Hum Mutat. 2002 Oct;20(4):322-3. doi: 10.1002/humu.9067.
- Ito S, Nakamura M, Ohnishi Y, Miyake Y. Autosomal dominant cone-rod dystrophy with R838H and R838C mutations in the GUCY2D gene in Japanese patients. Jpn J Ophthalmol. 2004 May-Jun;48(3):228-35. doi: 10.1007/s10384-003-0050-y.
- Kitiratschky VB, Wilke R, Renner AB, Kellner U, Vadala M, Birch DG, Wissinger B, Zrenner E, Kohl S. Mutation analysis identifies GUCY2D as the major gene responsible for autosomal dominant progressive cone degeneration. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2008 Nov;49(11):5015-23. doi: 10.1167/iovs.08-1901. Epub 2008 May 16.
- Kumaran N, Pennesi ME, Yang P, Trzupek KM, Michaelides M. Nonsyndromic Leber Congenital Amaurosis / Early-Onset Severe Retinal Dystrophy Overview. 2018 Oct 4 [updated 2025 Dec 4]. In: Adam MP, Bick S, Mirzaa GM, Wallace SE, Amemiya A, editors. GeneReviews(R) [Internet]. Seattle (WA): University of Washington, Seattle; 1993-2026. Available from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK531510/
- Payne AM, Morris AG, Downes SM, Johnson S, Bird AC, Moore AT, Bhattacharya SS, Hunt DM. Clustering and frequency of mutations in the retinal guanylate cyclase (GUCY2D) gene in patients with dominant cone-rod dystrophies. J Med Genet. 2001 Sep;38(9):611-4. doi: 10.1136/jmg.38.9.611. No abstract available.
- Rozet JM, Perrault I, Gerber S, Hanein S, Barbet F, Ducroq D, Souied E, Munnich A, Kaplan J. Complete abolition of the retinal-specific guanylyl cyclase (retGC-1) catalytic ability consistently leads to leber congenital amaurosis (LCA). Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2001 May;42(6):1190-2.
- Stunkel ML, Brodie SE, Cideciyan AV, Pfeifer WL, Kennedy EL, Stone EM, Jacobson SG, Drack AV. Expanded Retinal Disease Spectrum Associated With Autosomal Recessive Mutations in GUCY2D. Am J Ophthalmol. 2018 Jun;190:58-68. doi: 10.1016/j.ajo.2018.03.021. Epub 2018 Mar 17.
- Ugur Iseri SA, Durlu YK, Tolun A. A novel recessive GUCY2D mutation causing cone-rod dystrophy and not Leber's congenital amaurosis. Eur J Hum Genet. 2010 Oct;18(10):1121-6. doi: 10.1038/ejhg.2010.81. Epub 2010 Jun 2.
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