{"id":1358,"date":"2021-11-01T01:17:29","date_gmt":"2021-11-01T06:17:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.creative-diagnostics.com\/blog\/?p=1358"},"modified":"2021-11-01T01:17:29","modified_gmt":"2021-11-01T06:17:29","slug":"nobel-prize-celebrities-piezo-family","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.creative-diagnostics.com\/blog\/index.php\/nobel-prize-celebrities-piezo-family\/","title":{"rendered":"Nobel Prize Celebrities-Piezo Family"},"content":{"rendered":"

In 2010, Patapoutian of the Scripps Institute and his colleagues discovered proteins that act as two switches\u2014proteins called Piezo1<\/a> and Piezo2<\/a> (a mechanically sensitive ion channel). Recently, Patapoutian shared the Nobel Prize with David Julius, who discovered how the feeling of heat and cold can be perceived.<\/p>\n

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Figure 1. Ardem Patapoutian.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A mechanosensitive ion channel is an ion channel that can sense changes in the mechanical force of the cell membrane and react quickly.\u00a0This reaction of the ion channel can convert the mechanical signal sensed by the membrane into an electrical signal or a chemical signal.\u00a0Mechanosensory is closely related to life activities, and its related research was first carried out in Escherichia coli.\u00a0Through the study of the mechanically sensitive ion channel MSCs protein family in Escherichia coli, it has been clearly explained how bacteria respond to changes in mechanical forces such as osmotic pressure to maintain life activities.\u00a0Subsequently, the researchers conducted studies on the NOMPC in Drosophila and the DEG\/ENaC channel family in nematodes, which explained relatively clearly the molecular basis of response to mechanical forces in lower eukaryotes.\u00a0However, the molecular basis for the production of touch, proprioception, and hearing in mammals in response to mechanical forces has always been unclear.\u00a0Scientists speculate that there is a certain protein that may act as both a force sensor and an ion channel, which can react and conduct mechanical force signal in nearly microseconds.\u00a0But what exactly are these combined receptor-channel proteins?<\/p>\n

To this end, Patapoutian and his colleague Bertrand Coste developed a research plan. They used a special mouse cell that can be converted into a measurable current for monitoring when tapped with a pipette. Then, they used gene knockout methods to screen candidate ion channel genes, by observing which batch of cells suddenly lost their tactile sensitivity, and then identifying their related genes. After a year of hard work, until 2010, Dr. Ardem Patapoutian’s research group identified the Piezo protein family for the first time, which is the first truly mechanically sensitive non-selective cation channel in mammals. This discovery was considered It is a landmark discovery to understand the important life activity of mechanical force in mammals.<\/p>\n

Piezo ion channels are one of the mechanically sensitive ion channels.\u00a0They are selectively permeable to Na+<\/sup>, K+<\/sup>, Ca2+<\/sup>\u00a0and Mg2+<\/sup>.\u00a0The channel family contains two structurally and genetically similar proteins, Piezo1 and Piezo2, both of which are activated by stress.\u00a0Through the study of the molecular structure of this family, it is found that the members of the piezo family are large protein substances with more than 2,000 residues, which cross the membrane about 30-40 times.\u00a0They can be said to be the most transmembrane molecules known to man.\u00a0The molecular weights are 55kDa and 70kDa, respectively.\u00a0Later, the scientists analyzed the spatial structure of the piezo protein by cryo-electron microscopy, and the images obtained were very amazing.\u00a0The three Piezo proteins form trimers across the cell membrane.\u00a0With the central hole as the center, the three proteins spiral outward to form a spatial structure similar to that of a propeller blade.\u00a0They bend upwards and outwards, forming a deep depression on the surface of the cell.\u00a0Based on its spatial structure, scientists predict that there are two possible mechanosensory mechanisms.\u00a0One is that when a mechanical force acts on the cell membrane, the “leaf” structure will drive the “support rod” structure inside the cell membrane,\u00a0thereby opening the central hole for ion flow;\u00a0another speculation is that the way Piezo\u2019s \u201cleaf\u201d structure makes the cell membrane pleated may suggest a different mechanism:\u00a0whether it is pushed or pulled, it will increase the cell membrane tension, and the curved channel may be flattened and opened.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In 2010, Patapoutian of the Scripps Institute and his colleagues discovered proteins that act as two switches\u2014proteins called Piezo1 and Piezo2 (a mechanically sensitive ion channel). Recently, Patapoutian shared the Nobel Prize with David Julius, who discovered how the feeling of heat and cold can be perceived. A mechanosensitive ion channel is an ion channel […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[52],"tags":[80],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.creative-diagnostics.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1358"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.creative-diagnostics.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.creative-diagnostics.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.creative-diagnostics.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.creative-diagnostics.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1358"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.creative-diagnostics.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1358\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1360,"href":"https:\/\/www.creative-diagnostics.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1358\/revisions\/1360"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.creative-diagnostics.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1358"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.creative-diagnostics.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1358"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.creative-diagnostics.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1358"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}