局部力的应用揭示了 Piezo1 的机械敏感结构域。

Duke University Medical Center, Department of Neurobiology, Durham, North Carolina 27710, USA.

Nat Commun. 2016 Oct 3;7:12939. doi: 10.1038/ncomms12939.

Piezos are mechanically activated ion channels that function as sensors of touch and pressure in various cell types. However, the precise mechanism and structures mediating mechanical activation and subsequent inactivation have not yet been identified. Here we use magnetic nanoparticles as localized transducers of mechanical force in combination with pressure-clamp electrophysiology to identify mechanically sensitive domains important for activation and inactivation.

压敏离子通道是机械激活的离子通道，作为各种细胞类型中触觉和压力的传感器。然而，介导机械激活和随后失活的确切机制和结构尚未确定。在这里，我们使用磁性纳米粒子作为机械力的局部换能器，结合压力钳电生理学，以确定对激活和失活很重要的机械敏感结构域。