光遗传技术中的两种主要光敏蛋白及其在阿尔茨海默病研究中的应用

Two main photosensitive proteins in optogenetic technology and their applications in the study of Alzheimer’s disease

阿尔茨海默病(Alzheimer’s disease, AD)是一种常见的中枢神经系统退行性疾病,但是,AD的发病机制还有待进一步的阐明。近年来,光遗传技术因其在时间和空间上的高精确性而逐渐被应用于AD的研究中。Ⅰ型光敏蛋白中的视紫红质通道蛋白-2 (channelrhodopsin-2, ChR2)和盐碱古菌嗜盐细菌视紫红质蛋白(Natronomonas halorhodopsin, NpHR)可以通过将光信号快速转换成跨膜离子电流来调节神经元的活动,因此,已经被应用于光遗传技术中。现对ChR2和NpHR在光遗传技术中的应用进行介绍,并总结其在AD研究中的应用进展。

Alzheimer’s disease(AD) is one of the most common neurodegenerative diseases and the pathogenetic mechanism needs to be further elucidated. In recent years, the optogenetic technology has been gradually applied to the research of AD due to high accuracy in time and in space. Channelrhodopsin-2(ChR2) and Natronomonas halorhodopsin(NpHR) are belong to type Ⅰ photosensitive protein. They can regulate the activity of neurons through converting the light signal into transmembrane ion current rapidly. Therefore, ChR2 and NpHR have been applied to the optogenetic technology. In this review, we introduced these two photosensitive proteins on the application of optogenetic technology and further summarized the research progress on their applications in AD research.