Cloaked Caged Compounds: Chemical Probes for Two-Photon Optoneurobiology.
Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2017;
56:193-197. [PMID:
27910251 PMCID:
PMC5195861 DOI:
10.1002/anie.201609269]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2016] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Caged neurotransmitters, in combination with focused light beams, enable precise interrogation of neuronal function, even at the level of single synapses. However, most caged transmitters are, surprisingly, severe antagonists of ionotropic gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptors. By conjugation of a large, neutral dendrimer to a caged GABA probe we introduce a "cloaking" technology that effectively reduces such antagonism to very low levels. Such cloaked caged compounds will enable the study of the signaling of the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA in its natural state using two-photon uncaging microscopy for the first time.
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