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Updated: Dec 3, 2025

Spatial and Temporal Control of T Cell Activation Using a Photoactivatable Agonist
Published on: April 25, 2018
Adrenergic Modulation With Photochromic Ligands
Davia Prischich1,2, Alexandre M J Gomila1,2, Santiago Milla-Navarro3
1Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC), The Barcelona Institute for Science and Technology (BIST), Barcelona, Spain.
Abstract:
Adrenoceptors are ubiquitous and mediate important autonomic functions as well as modulating arousal, cognition, and pain on a central level. Understanding these physiological processes and their underlying neural circuits requires manipulating adrenergic neurotransmission with high spatio-temporal precision. Here we present a first generation of photochromic ligands (adrenoswitches) obtained via azologization of a class of cyclic amidines related to the known ligand clonidine. Their pharmacology, photochromism, bioavailability, and lack of toxicity allow for broad biological applications, as demonstrated by controlling locomotion in zebrafish and pupillary responses in mice.
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