Optogenetics

A greater share of research interest in cell signaling is devoted to the receptors on the outer surface of the plasma membrane; less attention has focused on the molecules on the other side of the membrane, inside the cytoplasm which are equally important in signal transmission. The finer working of these external-internal molecules which, for example, can signal pancreatic cells to secrete insulin as needed, has advanced with the synthesis of three diacylglycerides (those “second messengers” on the inner membrane) that are sensitive to UV light; as this piece says, “The light-sensitive hybrid molecules are inactive in the dark, and are converted into the active form upon exposure to UV light. Irradiation with blue light returns them to the inactive state.”   The German researchers in this work also found that light signaling caused these synthetic molecules to move from one location to another on the inner membrane, which may be significant in metabolic processes. MORE

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