Bionanophotonics: general discussion

Abstract

opened a general discussion of the paper by Amitabha Chattopadhyay: The analysis depends on the spatial resolution, so when you classify them as dimers or trimers they have to be within a certain volume, so can you say that they are really dimers or are they just very close to each other? Amitabha Chattopadhyay responded: The analysis depends on spatial correlation of the photobleaching data. The size of the oligomers is deduced from tting the model. Amit Sharma asked: What is the size of these clusters when they are dimers or trimers? Would it not be possible to obtain the size through FRET studies? Amitabha Chattopadhyay answered: The size of the oligomers will be in the nm range. FRET will provide proximity (distance) information, not size. Rajaram Swaminathan said: I have two questions. First, what role does lipid composition play in the results shown? Will results be different with another lipid composition? Second, are there reports in the literature on GPCR oligomerization in articial liposomes where composition can be controlled? Amitabha Chattopadhyay responded: To answer the rst question, results from our laboratory and a number of groups have shown that lipid composition could play a role in GPCR function and oligomerization. To the second question, there are not too many examples of GPCRs oligomers studied in reconstituted liposomes. This is due to a variety of reasons which include difficulty in purication, and more importantly, lack of other cellular ingredients (necessary for oligomerization) in liposomal systems.