NeuroNex Innovation Award: Southwest Magnetogenetics Project (SoMa)

NeuroNex 创新奖：西南磁遗传学项目 (SoMa)

• 批准号: 1707562
• 负责人: Jacob Robinson
• 金额: $ 80万
• 依托单位: William Marsh Rice University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2017
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2017-09-01 至 2019-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1707562&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: NeuroNex; Innovation; Award; Southwest; Magnetogenetics

To better understand how the brain functions, scientists are in search of new methods to activate specific neurons in laboratory animals without restricting their behaviors. This research effort will create technologies that rely on magnetic fields to stimulate specific, genetically modified neurons. A major advantage of this "magnetogenetic" technology is fact that magnetic fields easily penetrate bone, skin and tissue making it easier for scientists to probe the role of specific cells deep within the body without using any implanted devices that could otherwise interfere with normal animal behavior or cause damage to the target tissue. Better understanding of how the brain works in laboratory animals will help reveal fundamental principles of computation in the brain that may apply across animal species to include humans. This deeper understanding of the brain is key for developing better diagnosis and treatments for neural disorders and to improve artificial systems like neural networks designed to operate like the human brain. This work will focus on understanding how biogenic magnetic nanoparticles tethered to temperature sensitive ion channels render specific cells sensitive to magnetic fields. The major goals of this effort will be the development of a comprehensive theory for the mechanism of action for these magnetogenetic channels, and the creation of a set of transgenic fly lines that display robust behavioral responses to magnetic fields. These magnetogenetic fly lines will be compatible with Gal4/UAS system such that magnetogenetic channels can be easily targeted to specific cells. The outcome of this work will be both a fundamental understanding of magnetogenetic mechanisms and a set of transgenic fly strains that will empower researchers to probe neural circuits in this common model organism.

为了更好地了解大脑的功能，科学家们正在寻找新的方法来激活实验室动物的特定神经元，而不限制它们的行为。这项研究工作将创造依靠磁场来刺激特定的转基因神经元的技术。这种“磁发生”技术的一个主要优点是，磁场很容易穿透骨骼、皮肤和组织，这使得科学家更容易探测体内深处特定细胞的作用，而不需要使用任何植入的设备，否则可能会干扰正常的动物行为或对目标组织造成损害。更好地了解实验动物的大脑是如何工作的，将有助于揭示大脑计算的基本原理，这些原理可能适用于包括人类在内的各种动物。这种对大脑的更深入了解，对于开发更好的神经疾病诊断和治疗，以及改进人工系统，如设计成像人脑一样运作的神经网络，是关键。这项工作将集中在理解生物磁性纳米颗粒如何与温度敏感的离子通道捆绑在一起，使特定的细胞对磁场敏感。这项工作的主要目标将是为这些磁产生通道的作用机制发展一个全面的理论，并创造一组对磁场表现出强大行为反应的转基因苍蝇品系。这些磁生磁线将与Gal4/UAS系统兼容，使得磁生磁道可以很容易地定向到特定的细胞。这项工作的结果将是对磁发生机制的基本了解，以及一组转基因苍蝇品系，这将使研究人员能够在这种常见的模式生物中探索神经回路。

项目成果

The rotating magnetocaloric effect as a potential mechanism for natural magnetic senses

• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0222401
• 发表时间: 2019-10
• 期刊: PLoS ONE
• 影响因子: 3.7
• 作者: A. M. Bell;J. Robinson;J. Robinson

Magnetic Entropy as a Proposed Gating Mechanism for Magnetogenetic Ion Channels

• DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2019.01.003
• 发表时间: 2019-02-05
• 期刊: BIOPHYSICAL JOURNAL
• 影响因子: 3.4
• 作者: Duret, Guillaume;Polali, Sruthi;Robinson, Jacob T.
• 通讯作者: Robinson, Jacob T.

Subsecond multichannel magnetic control of select neural circuits in freely moving flies

• DOI: 10.1038/s41563-022-01281-7
• 发表时间: 2022-06-27
• 期刊: NATURE MATERIALS
• 影响因子: 41.2
• 作者: Sebesta，Charles;Torres Hinojosa，Daniel;Robinson，Jacob T.
• 通讯作者: Robinson，Jacob T.