Kung Ching
Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Department of Genetics, University of Wisconsin, 1525 Linden Drive, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, USA.
Nature. 2005 Aug 4;436(7051):647-54. doi: 10.1038/nature03896.
Of Aristotle's five senses, we know that sight, smell and much of taste are initiated by ligands binding to G-protein-coupled receptors; however, the mechanical sensations of touch and hearing remain without a clear understanding of their molecular basis. Recently, the relevant force-transducing molecules--the mechanosensitive ion channels--have been identified. Such channel proteins purified from bacteria sense forces from the lipid bilayer in the absence of other proteins. Recent evidence has shown that lipids are also intimately involved in opening and closing the mechanosensitive channels of fungal, plant and animal species.
在亚里士多德提出的五种感官中，我们知道视觉、嗅觉以及大部分味觉是由配体与G蛋白偶联受体结合引发的；然而，触觉和听觉的机械感觉在分子基础方面仍未得到清晰的认识。最近，相关的力转导分子——机械敏感离子通道——已被识别出来。从细菌中纯化出的此类通道蛋白在没有其他蛋白质的情况下能感知来自脂质双层的力。最近的证据表明，脂质在真菌、植物和动物物种的机械敏感通道的开启和关闭过程中也密切相关。
