A chemogenetic technology using insect Ionotropic Receptors to stimulate target cell populations in the mammalian brain

Chemogenetics uses artificially-engineered proteins to modify the activity of cells, notably neurons, in response to small molecules. Although a common set of chemogenetic tools are the G protein-coupled receptor-based DREADDs, there has been great hope for ligand-gated, ion channel-type chemogeneti...

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Main Authors: Yoshio Iguchi, Richard Benton, Kazuto Kobayashi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-05-01
Series:Neuroscience Research
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168010224001366
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author Yoshio Iguchi
Richard Benton
Kazuto Kobayashi
author_facet Yoshio Iguchi
Richard Benton
Kazuto Kobayashi
author_sort Yoshio Iguchi
collection DOAJ
description Chemogenetics uses artificially-engineered proteins to modify the activity of cells, notably neurons, in response to small molecules. Although a common set of chemogenetic tools are the G protein-coupled receptor-based DREADDs, there has been great hope for ligand-gated, ion channel-type chemogenetic tools that directly impact neuronal excitability. We have devised such a technology by exploiting insect Ionotropic Receptors (IRs), a highly divergent subfamily of ionotropic glutamate receptors that evolved to detect diverse environmental chemicals. Here, we review a series of studies developing and applying this “IR-mediated neuronal activation” (IRNA) technology with the Drosophila melanogaster IR84a/IR8a complex, which detects phenyl-containing ligands. We also discuss how variants of IRNA could be produced by modifying the composition of the IR complex, using natural or engineered subunits, which would enable artificial activation of different cell populations in the brain in response to distinct chemicals.
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spelling doaj-art-59d2acaf7f914e29b0db593a2b7be0352025-08-20T02:30:15ZengElsevierNeuroscience Research0168-01022025-05-01214566110.1016/j.neures.2024.11.003A chemogenetic technology using insect Ionotropic Receptors to stimulate target cell populations in the mammalian brainYoshio Iguchi0Richard Benton1Kazuto Kobayashi2Department of Molecular Genetics, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine, 1 Hikarigaoka, Fukushima 960-1295, JapanCenter for Integrative Genomics, Faculty of Biology and Medicine, University of Lausanne, Lausanne CH-1015, SwitzerlandDepartment of Molecular Genetics, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine, 1 Hikarigaoka, Fukushima 960-1295, Japan; Corresponding author.Chemogenetics uses artificially-engineered proteins to modify the activity of cells, notably neurons, in response to small molecules. Although a common set of chemogenetic tools are the G protein-coupled receptor-based DREADDs, there has been great hope for ligand-gated, ion channel-type chemogenetic tools that directly impact neuronal excitability. We have devised such a technology by exploiting insect Ionotropic Receptors (IRs), a highly divergent subfamily of ionotropic glutamate receptors that evolved to detect diverse environmental chemicals. Here, we review a series of studies developing and applying this “IR-mediated neuronal activation” (IRNA) technology with the Drosophila melanogaster IR84a/IR8a complex, which detects phenyl-containing ligands. We also discuss how variants of IRNA could be produced by modifying the composition of the IR complex, using natural or engineered subunits, which would enable artificial activation of different cell populations in the brain in response to distinct chemicals.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168010224001366Chemogenetic toolIonotropic ReceptorsIR84a/IR8a complexPhenylacetic acidProdrug system
spellingShingle Yoshio Iguchi
Richard Benton
Kazuto Kobayashi
A chemogenetic technology using insect Ionotropic Receptors to stimulate target cell populations in the mammalian brain
Neuroscience Research
Chemogenetic tool
Ionotropic Receptors
IR84a/IR8a complex
Phenylacetic acid
Prodrug system
title A chemogenetic technology using insect Ionotropic Receptors to stimulate target cell populations in the mammalian brain
title_full A chemogenetic technology using insect Ionotropic Receptors to stimulate target cell populations in the mammalian brain
title_fullStr A chemogenetic technology using insect Ionotropic Receptors to stimulate target cell populations in the mammalian brain
title_full_unstemmed A chemogenetic technology using insect Ionotropic Receptors to stimulate target cell populations in the mammalian brain
title_short A chemogenetic technology using insect Ionotropic Receptors to stimulate target cell populations in the mammalian brain
title_sort chemogenetic technology using insect ionotropic receptors to stimulate target cell populations in the mammalian brain
topic Chemogenetic tool
Ionotropic Receptors
IR84a/IR8a complex
Phenylacetic acid
Prodrug system
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168010224001366
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