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Volume 2 Issue 1, January 2006

Optical control of glutamate receptors. Volgraf et al. (p 47) have created a glutamate receptor that can be turned on and off by light. This light-sensitive receptor was engineered by tethering an agonist to the receptor using a chemical linker that undergoes a conformation change in response to a specific wavelength of light (see also News & Views by Bayley, p 11). The image shows models for the open and closed forms of the engineered receptor and the chemical structure of the covalently attached small molecule in the cis and trans conformations. Cover art by Erin Boyle, based on images provided by Dirk Trauner.

Volume 2 Issue 1

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Editorial

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Commentary

  • Chemical biology has historical roots that date back to the birth of chemistry and biology as distinct sciences.

    • Kim L Morrison
    • Gregory A Weiss
    Commentary
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News & Views

  • A small-molecule inhibitor of protein secretion has been found that targets Cdc42, a regulator of the secretory pathway. This compound acts through a previously undescribed mechanism—by recruiting a protein inhibitor.

    • Brent R Stockwell
    News & Views

  • Methylation is a key regulatory event in several biological processes. The enzymatic transfer by methyltransferases of extended carbon chain analogs of S-adenosylmethionine to DNA opens up new avenues for investigating biological methylation.

    • Andrew C Mercer
    • Michael D Burkart
    News & Views

  • Hedgehog signaling has important and pleiotropic roles in embryonic and adult tissues. A small-molecule agonist of this pathway has been shown to act by targeting the transmembrane protein Smoothened.

    • James Briscoe
    News & Views

  • Ion channels have essential roles in the nervous system. An engineered ligand-gated channel with a photoactivated switch will be useful for addressing several issues in neuronal signaling.

    • Hagan Bayley
    News & Views

  • Neurotransmitter binding to a member of the Cys-loop receptor superfamily elicits opening of an ion channel by inducing a change in the configuration of a prolyl imide bond. Engineering a series of mutant receptors to contain proline analogues with a range of cis/trans preferences demonstrates the molecular basis for channel gating.

    • Amy H Andreotti
    News & Views

  • A new small molecule inhibitor of TNF has an unexpected mechanism: it disrupts the trimeric structure of the protein.

    • Tim Clackson
    News & Views
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Brief Communication

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