Professeur Armagan KOCER – University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
Transformation of a mechanosensitive biological ion channel to a light- and pH-sensor: from gating mechanisms to applications
Sensing and responding to mechanical stimuli is an ancient behavior and ubiquitous to all forms of life. One of its players ‘mechanosensitive ion channels’ are involved in processes from osmosensing in bacteria to pain in humans. However, the mechanism of mechanosensing is yet to be elucidated. In bacteria, mechanosensation protects cells from lysis upon osmotic down shock depending on the rate of the osmotic change. One of the primary players in this process is mechanosensitive ion channel of large conductance, MscL. This talk will focus on both the fundamental research findings on the gating mechanism of MscL and application of that knowledge in the fileds of drug delivery and bio-sensors.
