Enoch Luis

PIEZO channels are opening the study of mechanosensation in unexpected places The force-activated ion channels underlie the senses of touch and proprioception. Now scientists are using them as a tool to explore molecular mechanisms at work in internal organs…

A wonderful piece by @callimcflurry.bsky.social on how mechanosensitive PIEZO ion channels are being used to explore how our bodies rely on pressure sensing. It is a thoughtfully researched article, with perspectives from many colleagues across the field.
www.thetransmitter.org/interoceptio...

Can adding light sensors to nerve cells switch off pain, epilepsy, and other disorders? Optogenetics is poised to move from a research tool to new therapies—if scientists can show it’s safe

Optogenetics is poised to move from a research tool to new therapies—if scientists can show it’s safe. https://scim.ag/48VQ7gt

#UNAM

grassfoundation.org/time-for-tar...

Guillermina M. Luque et al. observed that bovine serum albumin-induced calcium influx triggers soluble adenylyl cyclase activation and cyclic AMP signalling pathways in mouse sperm capacitation 🔬 ⌛

📜 Read the #Research: physoc.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1113/...

The structure of human sweetness A single taste receptor initiates our reactions to both sugars and artificial sweeteners, triggering a signaling process that drives our intense attraction to sweet foods. Single-particle cryo-EM reveals the structure of the human sweet taste receptor, a heteromer composed of TAS1R2 + TAS1R3 GPCRs.

Now online! The structure of human sweetness

PRF 16 April

Check out this #PapersoftheWeek #EditorsPick review from Tyagi et al. and @natrevneurosci.bsky.social that synthesizes current knowledge on the spatiotemporal regulation of ion channel trafficking in CNS and PNS neurons bit.ly/4iarcqW #PRF

Human dorsal root ganglion (hDRG), green is beta 3 tubulin (a neuronal marker) and red is p-eIF2α (a marker of cellular stress)

hDRG, confocal microscopy, z-stack

🔬We study the dorsal root ganglion (DRG), which is a cluster of cells located just outside of the spinal cord. The DRG routes pain signals from the periphery to the central nervous system.

#FluorescenceFriday #sciart #neuroart

Understanding the molecular diversity of synapses - Nature Reviews Neuroscience The set of proteins present at synapses determines their heterogeneous functions and properties. In this Review, van Oostrum and Schuman describe the molecular mechanisms that contribute to the d...

Such a nice, comprehensive review by @marcvoo.bsky.social and @erin-schuman.bsky.social on the molecular diversity of synapses (h/t @djabaudon.bsky.social):
www.nature.com/articles/s41...