Press-room / Digest
Spider venom may help to stop neuronal death
Venoms of spiders and wasps contain acylpolyamines that act as high-affinity blockers of ionotropic receptors for glutamate, the main excitatory neurotransmitter in the human central nervous system (CNS). The first representative of acylpolyamines, argiopin from the venom of the orb-weaver spider Argiope lobata, was discovered in 1986 by Eugene Grishin’s team at IBCh RAS. Here, an international team of scientists, including a researcher from IBCh RAS, has used cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) to determine the first atomic structure of an argiopin-glutamate receptor complex.
Fast and safe: new reversibly switchable fluorescent proteins for live-cell nanoscopy
Russian scientists together with colleagues from Sweden and the USA developed red fluorescent tags that are safe for nanoscopy in living cells. The results are published in Nature Methods journal.
Genetically encoded fluorescent pH probe for precise monitoring of cellular biochemistry
One of the directions of the Molecular Technologies Laboratory is the development of new tools for bioimaging and optogenetics. Yulia Ermakova, Vsevolod Belousov and other lab members, in an article in Chemical Communications, describe a new member of SypHer family of genetically encoded pH indicators, SypHer3s.
Spider venom will cure from paralysis
Scientists from IBCh RAS together with foreign colleagues discovered that a toxin from the venom of the spider Heriaeus melloteei may serve as a hit in drug discovery for hypokalemic periodic paralysis type 2. The disease is caused by mutations in the gene encoding voltage-gated sodium channels NaV1.4, characteristic of skeletal muscles. As a result of the mutations, these channels conduct aberrant currents, the muscles are unable to respond to the signals of the nervous system, and weakness develops followed by paralysis. Until now, there is no reliable medication for all cases of this disease.
Lindoldhamine can activate the human ASIC3 channel
Researchers from the Laboratory of Neuroreceptors and Neuroregulators (group leader - Sergei Kozlov) found alkaloid lindoldhamine in the leaves of the noble laurel, which can activate the human ASIC3 channel at physiological pH. They reported that acidification of the extracellular medium is not essential for the opening of this channel. Molecules, closely related to the structure of lindolhamine, are produced in the human body during the inflammation and can also activate and alter the functioning of acid-sensitive channels. Regulation of the intracellular synthesis pathways of these endogenous molecules can be a new therapeutic strategy for a novel therapeutic strategy for treatment of pain and inflammation.