Protein in mosquito may shed light on brain communication pathways
Proteins called rhodopsins via optogenetics can control the activity of neurons in mice.
A Culex quinquefasciatus mosquito is seen on the
skin of a human host in this 2014 picture from the Center for Disease
Control. C. quinquefasciatus is known as one of the many arthropodal
vectors responsible for spreading the arboviral encephalitis, West Nile
virus (WNV) to human beings through their skin (photo credit: REUTERS)
New research on a protein found in mosquitos may have increased our
understanding of brain communication pathways, which may help
scientists develop new therapies to treat neurological and psychiatric
conditions.
Using a
light-sensitive protein derived from mosquitos, Prof. Ofer Yizhar and
his team in the Weizmann Institute of Science’s Neurobiology Department
created a new method for discovering messages that are passed neuron to
neuron in the brain of mice. Referring to the technique as "reverse
engineering," Yizhar and his team developed optogenetic methods to
understand better brain circuit function.
Proteins called rhodopsins via optogenetics can control the
activity of neurons in mice, which allowed Yitzhar to influence the
behavior of certain neurons when he and his team shined a beam of light
into the his lab mouse's brain.
“We
can detect the presence of the various neurotransmitters, but different
neurons ‘read’ those neurotransmitters differently,” he says.
“Optogenetics enables us to not only see the ‘ink,’ but really to
decipher the ‘message’,” Yitzhar noted.
The goal of the research is to ultimately create a better version of rhodopsins than those currently available.
Multiple
variations of the rhodopsin molecule can be found in nature, including
in fish, insects and mammals, which may have an impact of circadian
cycles. Using a mosquito rhodopsin molecule, the researchers found that
neurons that produce the mosquito sensor are affected by the light,
leading to an impact on the brain's synapses that can be controlled in
space and time.
The
researchers were able to illuminate the hemisphere expressing the
mosquito rhodopsin with green light, prompting a one-sided bias in the
mice's behavior.
“One of the major advantages of the mosquito rhodopsin is that it’s
biostable – that is, it does not need refreshing – and it is
potentially very specific, so that we can control just the precise
synapses in which we are interested,” says Yizhar.
“This
is a very exciting technology, since it will allow us to discover the
roles of specific pathways in the brain in a way that was not possible
before. We think this mosquito protein could open the way to developing a
whole family of new optogenetic tools for use in neuroscience
research,” he added.
A Culex quinquefasciatus mosquito is seen on the
skin of a human host in this 2014 picture from the Center for Disease
Control. C. quinquefasciatus is known as one of the many arthropodal
vectors responsible for spreading the arboviral encephalitis, West Nile
virus (WNV) to human beings through their skin (photo credit: REUTERS)
New research on a protein found in mosquitos may have increased our
understanding of brain communication pathways, which may help
scientists develop new therapies to treat neurological and psychiatric
conditions.
Using a
light-sensitive protein derived from mosquitos, Prof. Ofer Yizhar and
his team in the Weizmann Institute of Science’s Neurobiology Department
created a new method for discovering messages that are passed neuron to
neuron in the brain of mice. Referring to the technique as "reverse
engineering," Yizhar and his team developed optogenetic methods to
understand better brain circuit function.
Proteins called rhodopsins via optogenetics can control the
activity of neurons in mice, which allowed Yitzhar to influence the
behavior of certain neurons when he and his team shined a beam of light
into the his lab mouse's brain.
“We
can detect the presence of the various neurotransmitters, but different
neurons ‘read’ those neurotransmitters differently,” he says.
“Optogenetics enables us to not only see the ‘ink,’ but really to
decipher the ‘message’,” Yitzhar noted.
The goal of the research is to ultimately create a better version of rhodopsins than those currently available.
Multiple
variations of the rhodopsin molecule can be found in nature, including
in fish, insects and mammals, which may have an impact of circadian
cycles. Using a mosquito rhodopsin molecule, the researchers found that
neurons that produce the mosquito sensor are affected by the light,
leading to an impact on the brain's synapses that can be controlled in
space and time.
The
researchers were able to illuminate the hemisphere expressing the
mosquito rhodopsin with green light, prompting a one-sided bias in the
mice's behavior.
“One of the major advantages of the mosquito rhodopsin is that it’s
biostable – that is, it does not need refreshing – and it is
potentially very specific, so that we can control just the precise
synapses in which we are interested,” says Yizhar.
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