New optogenetic tool inhibits activity in neurons and heart muscle cells
Researchers from Ruhr University Bochum have partnered with colleagues in Göttingen, Berlin, Paris and Essen to develop new optogenetic tools that can selectively inhibit cellular activity through light. These tools could help investigate diseases in which the balance between excitation and inhibition is disrupted, such as cardiac arrhythmias.
Scientists from Ruhr University Bochum collaborated with researchers in Göttingen, Berlin, Paris, and Essen to create innovative optogenetic tools capable of selectively inhibiting cellular activity using light. These tools may aid in investigating diseases where the balance between excitation and inhibition is disrupted, such as cardiac arrhythmias.
The findings, published in Science Signaling on October 20, 2026, involve coupling a light-sensitive receptor called Opn4L with a modified potassium channel called GIRK1, which activates a G-protein-coupled signaling pathway. G-protein-coupled receptors are crucial in animal cells for responding to various stimuli, including signaling molecules, medications, and light.
In the study, the researchers incorporated this optogenetic tool into cerebellar neurons and heart muscle cells in a lab setting. When blue light was directed at the Opn4L receptor, the connected GIRK channel in the cell membrane opened, activating a downstream G-protein-coupled signaling pathway and making the cell less excitable, thus inhibiting the activity of the neurons.
The same optical switch was effective in human heart muscle cells, causing a decrease in the spontaneous beating rate when exposed to blue light. This novel optogenetic construct can precisely influence the balance between stimulatory and inhibitory signals in individual cells, potentially enabling more accurate examination and control of signaling mechanisms in heart muscle and pacemaker cells, as well as neurons in the future.
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