Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 29, 2025
10:29
Multi-photon Intracellular Sodium Imaging Combined with UV-mediated Focal Uncaging of Glutamate in CA1 Pyramidal Neurons
Published on: October 8, 2014
14.1K
Activating Acid-Sensing Ion Channels with Photoacid Generators.
Xinglei Liu1, Karthik Sambath1, Lauren Hutnik1
1Department of Chemistry and Environmental Science, College of Science and Liberal Arts, New Jersey Institute of Technology, 323 Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. Newark NJ 07102 (USA).
Chemphotochem
|September 12, 2022
Summary
Researchers developed a novel method to precisely control acid-sensing ion channels (ASICs) using light. Organic photoacid generators (PAGs) activate ASICs with light, offering new insights into neurological diseases.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Biochemistry
- Biomedical Engineering
Background:
- Acid-sensing ion channels (ASICs) are crucial in neuronal function and implicated in pain, stroke, and neurodegenerative diseases.
- Understanding ASICs' roles requires precise control over their activation.
- Existing methods for ASIC manipulation lack spatial or temporal precision.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a light-activated system for precise ASIC manipulation.
- To investigate the feasibility of using organic photoacid generators (PAGs) for ASIC activation.
- To analyze ASIC-mediated calcium influx in response to light stimulation.
Main Methods:
- Utilized organic photoacid generators (PAGs) that release protons (H+) upon light exposure.
- Applied LED light illumination to activate PAGs and subsequently ASICs.
- Monitored ASIC activation and calcium ion influx using fluorescence microscopy.
- Assessed the light-dependent response and PAGs' toxicity in dark conditions.
Main Results:
- Demonstrated successful ASIC activation with high light dependency.
- Observed significant calcium ion influx upon light-induced PAG activation.
- PAGs exhibited low toxicity under dark conditions, indicating good biocompatibility.
- The developed system showed a strong, measurable light-dependent response.
Conclusions:
- Developed a novel, light-based method for precise ASIC activation.
- This photopharmacological approach offers a valuable tool for studying ASICs.
- Potential applications include elucidating ASIC roles in physiology, pathophysiology, and behavior.
Related Concept Videos
01:21G-Protein Gated Ion Channels
4.8K
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...
Sensory...
4.8K
01:12Mechanically-gated Ion Channels
6.6K
Mechanically-gated ion channels are proteins found in eukaryotic and prokaryotic cell membranes that open in response to mechanical stress. Tension, compression, swelling, and shear stress can alter the conformation of the protein, opening a transmembrane channel that allows the passage of ions for signal transmission. In eukaryotes, mechanically-gated channels are distributed in several regions like the neurons, lungs, skin, bladder, and heart, where they play critical roles in numerous...
6.6K
01:11Channel Rhodopsins
2.6K
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,...
Rhodopsins belong to the family of cell surface proteins called G-protein coupled receptors,...
2.6K
01:30Anoxygenic Photosynthesis
115
Anoxygenic photosynthesis is a phototrophic process that captures light energy to drive carbon fixation without producing molecular oxygen. Unlike oxygenic photosynthesis, which utilizes water as an electron donor and releases oxygen, anoxygenic phototrophs use alternative electron donors such as hydrogen sulfide (H₂S), elemental sulfur (S⁰), or thiosulfate (S₂O₃²⁻). This process is carried out by diverse groups of bacteria, including purple bacteria, green...
115
01:29The Photochemical Reaction Center
4.2K
Reaction centers are pigment-protein complexes that initiate energy conversion from photons to chemical entities. Therefore, photochemical reaction center is a more appropriate term that describes these complexes. The Nobel laureates Robert Emerson and William Arnold provided the first experimental evidence of photochemical reaction centers by demonstrating the participation of nearly 2,500 chlorophyll molecules for the release of just one molecule of oxygen. Despite thousands of photosynthetic...
4.2K
01:27Photosystem I
64.1K
Although structurally similar to photosystem II (PSII), photosystem I (PSI) is has a different electron supplier and electron acceptor.
Both these photosystems work in concert. An excited electron from PSII is relayed to PSI via an electron transport chain in the thylakoid membrane of the chloroplast, which is comprised of the carrier molecule plastoquinone, the dual-protein cytochrome complex, and plastocyanin. As electrons move between PSII and PSI, they lose energy and must be re-energized...
Both these photosystems work in concert. An excited electron from PSII is relayed to PSI via an electron transport chain in the thylakoid membrane of the chloroplast, which is comprised of the carrier molecule plastoquinone, the dual-protein cytochrome complex, and plastocyanin. As electrons move between PSII and PSI, they lose energy and must be re-energized...
64.1K