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UNIVERSITY OF BUCHAREST
FACULTY OF PHYSICS Guest
2024-11-22 2:31 |
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Conference: Bucharest University Faculty of Physics 2013 Meeting
Section: Biophysics; Medical Physics
Title:
Optogenetics: a new challenging branch of biophysics
Authors:
Aurel I. POPESCU
Affiliation:
University of Bucharest, Faculty of Physics, ROMANIA
E-mail
prof.aurel.popescu@gmail.com
Keywords:
Optogenetics, opsins, viral vector, cell membranes, neural networks, targeted neurons, optical sources
Abstract:
In the last decade a very challenging research field with very tremendous implications in biology, physiology, psychology and, on long term, in medicine had appeared. This new promising domain was called optogenetics, because it involves the light and optical techniques, in exploring both in vitro and in vivo behaviour of the cells whose components are previously genetically modified. The term optogenetics was coined in 2006 (Deisseroth et al., 2006) describing the high-speed optical methods for light stimulating and controlling certain targeted neurons pertaining to a particular neutral network. More precisely, the light produced by different light sources (lasers, LED, etc.) is used to selectively excite some light sensitive molecules (microbial opsins, rhodopsins, etc.) that were specifically targeted to a cellular subpopulation of a biological tissue, by the aid a viral vector. These light sensitive molecules are inserted into the cell membranes where they influence an important cellular process (e.g., the ionic transfer across the membrane). An excellent extensive review on optogenetics in neural systems was recently published by the group of Deisseroth (Yizar et al., 2011). Application of optogenetics seems to be unlimited: from the knowledge on complex neuronal networks operation to miofibril contraction or to locomotion of unicellular organisms.
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