Receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) are a large family of cell surface receptors that sense growth factors and hormones and regulate a variety of cell behaviours in health and disease. Contactless activation of RTKs with spatial and temporal precision is currently not feasible. Here, we generated RTKs that are insensitive to endogenous ligands but can be selectively activated by low-intensity blue light. We screened light-oxygen-voltage (LOV)-sensing domains for their ability to activate RTKs by light-activated dimerization. Incorporation of LOV domains found in aureochrome photoreceptors of stramenopiles resulted in robust activation of the fibroblast growth factor receptor 1 (FGFR1), epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and rearranged during transfection (RET). In human cancer and endothelial cells, light induced cellular signalling with spatial and temporal precision. Furthermore, light faithfully mimicked complex mitogenic and morphogenic cell behaviour induced by growth factors. RTKs under optical control (Opto-RTKs) provide a powerful optogenetic approach to actuate cellular signals and manipulate cell behaviour.

G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs), the largest family of membrane signaling proteins, respond to neurotransmitters, hormones and small environmental molecules. The neuronal function of many GPCRs has been difficult to resolve because of an inability to gate them with subtype-specificity, spatial precision, speed and reversibility. To address this, we developed an approach for opto-chemical engineering native GPCRs. We applied this to the metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs) to generate light-agonized and light-antagonized “LimGluRs”. The light-agonized “LimGluR2”, on which we focused, is fast, bistable, and supports multiple rounds of on/off switching. Light gates two of the primary neuronal functions of mGluR2: suppression of excitability and inhibition of neurotransmitter release. The light-antagonized “LimGluR2block” can be used to manipulate negative feedback of synaptically released glutamate on transmitter release. We generalize the optical control to two additional family members: mGluR3 and 6. The system works in rodent brain slice and in zebrafish in vivo, where we find that mGluR2 modulates the threshold for escape behavior. These light-gated mGluRs pave the way for determining the roles of mGluRs in synaptic plasticity, memory and disease.

Highlights d Induction of synaptic LTP prompts withdrawal of perisynaptic astroglia d The underlying mechanisms involve NKCC1 transporter and cofilin d Reduced synaptic astroglial coverage boosts extrasynaptic glutamate escape d LTP induction thus enhances NMDAR-dependent intersynaptic cross-talk

Molecular interactions are the basic language of biological processes. They establish the forces interacting between the building blocks of proteins and other macromolecules, thus determining their functional roles. Because molecular interactions trigger virtually every biological process, approaches to decipher their language are needed. Single-molecule force spectroscopy (SMFS) has been used to detect and characterize different types of molecular interactions that occur between and within native membrane proteins. The first experiments detected and localized molecular interactions that stabilized membrane proteins, including how these interactions were established during folding of alpha-helical secondary structure elements into the native protein and how they changed with oligomerization, temperature, and mutations. SMFS also enables investigators to detect and locate molecular interactions established during ligand and inhibitor binding. These exciting applications provide opportunities for studying the molecular forces of life. Further developments will elucidate the origins of molecular interactions encoded in their lifetimes, interaction ranges, interplay, and dynamics characteristic of biological systems.

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The combination of high-resolution atomic force microscopy (AFM) imaging and single-molecule force-spectroscopy was employed to unfold single bacteriorhodopsins (BR) from native purple membrane patches at various physiologically relevant temperatures. The unfolding spectra reveal detailed insight into the stability of individual structural elements of BR against mechanical unfolding. Intermittent states in the unfolding process are associated with the stepwise unfolding of alpha-helices, whereas other states are associated with the unfolding of polypeptide loops connecting the alpha-helices. It was found that the unfolding forces of the secondary structures considerably decreased upon increasing the temperature from 8 to 52 degrees C. Associated with this effect, the probability of individual unfolding pathways of BR was significantly influenced by the temperature. At lower temperatures, transmembrane alpha-helices and extracellular polypeptide loops exhibited sufficient stability to individually establish potential barriers against unfolding, whereas they predominantly unfolded collectively at elevated temperatures. This suggests that increasing the temperature decreases the mechanical stability of secondary structural elements and changes molecular interactions between secondary structures, thereby forcing them to act as grouped structures.

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) allows the critical forces that unfold single proteins and rupture individual receptor-ligand bonds to be measured. To derive the shape of the energy landscape, the dynamic strength of the system is probed at different force loading rates. This is usually achieved by varying the pulling speed between a few nm/s and a few microm/s, although for a more complete investigation of the kinetic properties higher speeds are desirable. Above 10 microm/s, the hydrodynamic drag force acting on the AFM cantilever reaches the same order of magnitude as the molecular forces. This has limited the maximum pulling speed in AFM single-molecule force spectroscopy experiments. Here, we present an approach for considering these hydrodynamic effects, thereby allowing a correct evaluation of AFM force measurements recorded over an extended range of pulling speeds (and thus loading rates). To support and illustrate our theoretical considerations, we experimentally evaluated the mechanical unfolding of a multi-domain protein recorded at 30 microm/s pulling speed.

The folding and stability of transmembrane proteins is a fundamental and unsolved biological problem. Here, single bacteriorhodopsin molecules were mechanically unfolded from native purple membranes using atomic force microscopy and force spectroscopy. The energy landscape of individual transmembrane alpha helices and polypeptide loops was mapped by monitoring the pulling speed dependence of the unfolding forces and applying Monte Carlo simulations. Single helices formed independently stable units stabilized by a single potential barrier. Mechanical unfolding of the helices was triggered by 3.9-7.7 A extension, while natural unfolding rates were of the order of 10(-3) s(-1). Besides acting as individually stable units, helices associated pairwise, establishing a collective potential barrier. The unfolding pathways of individual proteins reflect distinct pulling speed-dependent unfolding routes in their energy landscapes. These observations support the two-stage model of membrane protein folding in which alpha helices insert into the membrane as stable units and then assemble into the functional protein.