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Signaling Pharmacology Lab
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The lab makes visible the signals of GPCRs, the targets of many drugs, in order to create the next generation of drugs.
AboutAbout the lab
Understanding and controlling GPCR signaling.
GPCRs are receptors in the cell membrane that act as sensors for hormones and many other substances. About 30% of currently approved drugs target GPCRs, making them important targets for drug discovery.
The Signaling Pharmacology Lab (the Inoe Lab) aims to understand in detail how GPCR signals are transmitted inside cells, by developing new methods to detect the activation of signaling molecules and by generating cells that lack those signaling molecules.
The ultimate goals are to identify new drug targets and to create better therapeutic drugs.
Key terms
- GPCR
- G protein-coupled receptor. A receptor in the cell membrane that relays signals such as hormones into the cell.
- G protein
- A protein that receives signals from GPCRs and relays them inside the cell.
- DREADD
- A receptor engineered to respond only to an artificial drug, which makes it possible to trigger only the targeted signal.
- Molecular dynamics simulation
- A method that computes the motion of atoms and molecules on a computer to reproduce the behavior of proteins.
ResearchResearch themes
The lab clarifies the functions of GPCRs and their downstream molecules at both the cellular and whole-animal levels.
*Illustrative imageMethods for measuring GPCR activation
The lab found that downstream of Gq and G12 signaling, TGFα on the cell membrane is cleaved and released, and used this finding to establish a highly sensitive experimental system for detecting GPCR activation.
*Illustrative imageA map of GPCR and G protein pairings
The lab comprehensively examined combinations of 148 GPCRs with known ligands and 4 types of G proteins, and newly found that more than 50 GPCRs couple to G12.
*Illustrative imageStudying G12 signaling in living animals
The lab created the world's first DREADD that couples to G12. Using it, the lab has generated mice in which the DREADD acts in targeted cells, and studies the function of G12 at the whole-animal level.
*Illustrative imageObserving GPCR dynamics through computation and at the single-molecule level
The lab uses molecular dynamics simulations to study atomic-level movements when GPCRs are activated. It also conducts research that measures, at the single-molecule level in living cells, the movements and binding of GPCRs and the molecules that receive their signals.
MembersFaculty
- ProfessorAsuka Inoe
VoicesStudent voices
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Report an errorAbout the images
The top and research theme images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab. They are cropped from Wikimedia Commons images. Cropped CC BY-SA images are provided under the same CC BY-SA license as the original (version shown on each line).
- Top image: “202304 G protein-coupled receptor” DataBase Center for Life Science (DBCLS) / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Methods for measuring GPCR activation: “GPCR structure” Tae Young Choi / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- A map of GPCR and G protein pairings: “G Protein rezeptor-CS” Peter Wolber & Jan Štěch / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Studying G12 signaling in living animals: “Vascular-endothelial-growth-factor-vegf-signaling-2011” Acknowledgement: Illustration by David S. Goodsell, RCSB Protein Data Bank. doi: 10.2210/rcsb_pdb/goodsell-gallery-041 / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Observing GPCR dynamics through computation and at the single-molecule level: “Molecular dynamics algorithm” Knordlun / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Pharmacogenomics and Genomic Drug Discovery Lab): “Rasyslami” The original uploader was (Automated conversion) at English Wikipedia. / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Metabolic Genome Pharmacology Lab): “High Fibre Foods” formulatehealth / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Chemical Biology Lab): “Chemical biology flowchart” Bread6 / CC0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Clinical Pharmacy Education Lab): “Kommissionierroboter in der Apotheke der Universitätsklinik Münster” UKM Elisabeth Deiters-Keul / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
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