Dynamic Mechanisms of Photoreceptor Signaling

We study light-sensitive membrane proteins, with a particular focus on G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) and their signaling assemblies, using and establishing time-resolved integrative structural biology and biophysical approaches.

Vision is a dominant human sense essential for daily life. Visual impairment affects more than a billion people worldwide, including age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, and inherited retinal diseases, many of which arise from dysfunction of light-activated signaling pathways.

By investigating how light-activated receptors convert photons into rapid and reliable cellular responses, we aim to uncover general principles governing dynamic membrane protein signaling at the molecular and cellular levels.

cones
Image Credit: Thomas Splettstößer/SciStyle
spectroscopy
© Paul Scherrer Institute PSI/Markus Fischer
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Auge
•Health Innovation
•9 min

Neue Einblicke in das menschliche Sehen

Biologie
Medizin

Wie das menschliche Auge für Tageslicht optimiert ist: PSI-Forschende bestimmen erstmals die dreidimensionale Struktur von Zapfenopsinen in ihrem Dunkelzustand.

Key Publications

  • Petrovic I, Grzesiek S, Isaikina P
    Advances in the molecular understanding of GPCR-arrestin complexes
    Biochemical Society Transactions. 2024; 52(6): 2333-2342. https://doi.org/10.1042/BST20240170
    DORA PSI
  • Isaikina P, Petrovic I, Jakob RP, Sarma P, Ranjan A, Baruah M, et al.
    A key GPCR phosphorylation motif discovered in arrestin2⋅CCR5 phosphopeptide complexes
    Molecular Cell. 2023; 83(12): 2108-2121.e7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molcel.2023.05.002
    DORA PSI
  • Isaikina P, Tsai C-J, Petrovic I, Rogowski M, Meng Dürr A, Grzesiek S
    Preparation of a stable CCL5·CCR5·Gi signaling complex for cryo-EM analysis
    In: Shukla AK, ed. Biomolecular interactions part B. Methods in cell biology. Cambridge: Elsevier; 2022:115-141. https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.mcb.2022.03.001
    DORA PSI
  • Isaikina P, Tsai C-J, Dietz N, Pamula F, Grahl A, Goldie KN, et al.
    Structural basis of the activation of the CC chemokine receptor 5 by a chemokine agonist
    Science Advances. 2021; 7(25): eabg8685 (11 pp.). https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abg8685
    DORA PSI

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4466-7715