Neurotransmitter receptors
How do cells in the nervous system signal to each other so quickly? In large part, this is mediated by ligand-gated ion channels, proteins on the cell surface - or receptors - that both recognize chemical signals and conduct electrical current across the cell membrane. The specificity of the signal is via physico-chemical differences between different receptors, and the rapidity is thanks to electricity in the form of ions flowing through the receptors’ intrinsic channels.
Electrophysiology
How do we measure receptor function? We make otherwise dormant cells express either normal receptors or receptors we have altered via mutagenesis. Then we can place electrodes in the cell and measure changes in ionic current across the cell membrane. This current is determined by the receptors’ sensitivity to the neurotransmitters we apply and to what structural changes we have introduced via mutagenesis.
Atomic mutagenesis
Altering the structure of proteins and measuring the resulting change in function relies on site-directed mutagenesis. Occasionally, this powerful tool falls short of the subtlety required for answering questions on the chemistry of protein function. We can sometimes overcome this by incorporating non-cannonical amino acids (ncAAs) into proteins!
Michael Sars Centre
Excellence in Marine Life Sciences
Named after Georg Sars and Michael Ossian Sars (and previously called the “Sars International Centre for Marine Molecular Biology”), the Centre is at the University of Bergen, Norway, and home to several groups using molecular methods and marine organisms to understand basic biological processes. It was founded in 1997 and is a partner organisation of the European Molecular Biology Organisation (EMBO).
Photo credit: Melanie Burford
Team
Various skills go into the investigation of neurotransmitter receptors. We are a mix of scientists with backgrounds in neuroscience, pharmacology, genetics, marine biology, or medicine. Read about lab members under Team and if you are interested in joining us please check here or email Tim at tim.lynagh@uib.no to learn more.
Model
organisms
Relatively simple invertebrates, such as this appendicularian, are more closely related to humans than one might expect. This becomes even clearer when studying receptors from these animals, using phylogenetics and electrophysiology. The use of such animals in our lab gives us a unique tool to investigate the vital contributions of neurotransmitter receptors to neural function. Thanks to Yana Mikhaleva, Sars Centre, for the picture!
