Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jan 1, 2026

Preparation of Living Isolated Vertebrate Photoreceptor Cells for Fluorescence Imaging
11:24

Preparation of Living Isolated Vertebrate Photoreceptor Cells for Fluorescence Imaging

Published on: June 22, 2011

12.8K

Transformation of Receptor Tyrosine Kinases into Glutamate Receptors and Photoreceptors

Philipp Leippe1,2, Johannes Broichhagen1,3, Katia Cailliau4

  • 1Department of Chemistry, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München and Munich Center for Integrated Protein Science, Butenandtstrasse 5-13, 81377, München, Germany.

Angewandte Chemie (International Ed. in English)
|December 25, 2019
PubMed

Insights

Scientists engineered human receptors to respond to light and glutamate, creating novel light-controlled signaling pathways. This breakthrough offers a new method for controlling cellular functions optically.

Area of Science:

  • Biochemistry
  • Molecular Biology
  • Cell Signaling

Background:

  • Receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) are crucial for cellular functions in animals.
  • Typically, vertebrate RTKs are activated by proteins, not amino acids or light.
  • Venus kinase receptors (VKRs) are atypical RTKs offering inspiration for novel receptor engineering.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To engineer human insulin receptor (hIR) and hepatocyte growth factor receptor (hMET) for light and glutamate sensitivity.
  • To develop a general strategy for converting existing RTKs into light-sensitive photoreceptors.

Main Methods:

  • Chimeric receptors were created by replacing extracellular domains of hIR and hMET with the ligand-binding domain of metabotropic glutamate receptor type 2 (mGluR2).
  • Light sensitivity was introduced using a synthetic glutamate-based photoswitch attached via a SNAP tag.
  • Functional assays in Xenopus laevis oocytes were used to measure kinase activity.

Main Results:

  • Successfully generated light-controlled human insulin receptor (LihIR) and light-controlled MET receptor (LihMET).
  • Demonstrated optical control over insulin and MET signaling pathways using these engineered receptors.
  • Validated the potential of this strategy for converting RTKs into photoreceptors.

Conclusions:

  • Engineered RTKs can be converted into light-sensitive receptors with tunable signaling pathways.
  • This approach provides a versatile platform for optical control of cellular processes.
  • The findings open new avenues for research in optogenetics and targeted therapeutics.
Keywords:
Venus kinase receptorsphotopharmacologyreceptor tyrosine kinasessignal transductionsynthetic biology

More Related Videos

Two Peeling Methods for the Isolation of Photoreceptor Cell Compartments in the Mouse Retina for Protein Analysis11:08

Two Peeling Methods for the Isolation of Photoreceptor Cell Compartments in the Mouse Retina for Protein Analysis

Published on: December 7, 2021

3.8K
Visualizing the Conformational Dynamics of Membrane Receptors Using Single-Molecule FRET10:59

Visualizing the Conformational Dynamics of Membrane Receptors Using Single-Molecule FRET

Published on: August 17, 2022

3.7K

Related Concept Videos

Photoreceptors and Visual Pathways01:22

Photoreceptors and Visual Pathways

At the molecular level, visual signals trigger transformations in photopigment molecules, resulting in changes in the photoreceptor cell's membrane potential. The photon's energy level is denoted by its wavelength, with each specific wavelength of visible light associated with a distinct color. The spectral range of visible light, classified as electromagnetic radiation, spans from 380 to 720 nm. Electromagnetic radiation wavelengths exceeding 720 nm fall under the infrared category,...
8.5K
Channel Rhodopsins01:11

Channel Rhodopsins

Most organisms use photoreceptors to sense and respond to light. Examples of photoreceptors include bacteriorhodopsins and bacteriophytochromes in some bacteria, phytochromes in plants, and rhodopsins in the photoreceptor cells of the vertebral retina. The light-sensitive property of these receptors is because of the bound chromophores, such as bilin in the phytochromes and retinal in the rhodopsins.
Rhodopsins belong to the family of cell surface proteins called G-protein coupled receptors,...
3.1K
G-Protein Gated Ion Channels01:21

G-Protein Gated Ion Channels

GPCRs are primarily responsible for our sense of smell, taste, and vision.  The binding of a sensory stimulus activates GPCR to stimulate effector proteins, many of which are ion channels in the sensory organs. GPCRs modulate the opening and closing of the target ion channels either directly by binding them, or by releasing second messengers that activate these channels. As ions move across the membrane, the membrane potential is altered, which induces an appropriate response.
Sensory...
5.5K
The Retina01:32

The Retina

The retina is a layer of nervous tissue at the back of the eye that transduces light into neural signals. This process, called phototransduction, is carried out by rod and cone photoreceptor cells in the back of the retina.
74.0K
Enzyme-linked Receptors01:00

Enzyme-linked Receptors

Enzyme-linked receptors are proteins that act as both receptor and enzyme, activating multiple intracellular signals. This is a large group of receptors that include the receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) family. Many growth factors and hormones bind to and activate the RTKs.
Neurotrophin (NT) receptors are a family of RTKs, including trkA, trkB, and trkC (tropomyosin-related kinase) receptors. TrkA is specific for nerve growth factor (NGF), neurotrophin-6, and neurotrophin-7. TrkB binds...
85.4K
Transducer Mechanism: Enzyme-Linked Receptors01:27

Transducer Mechanism: Enzyme-Linked Receptors

Enzyme-linked receptors are cell-surface receptors acting as an enzyme or associating with an enzyme intracellularly. They make excellent drug targets. Drugs can bind to the extracellular ligand-binding domain or directly affect their enzymatic domain and alter their activity.
Major types that are helpful drug targets include:
3.7K