In this image, a biosensor is targeted to a cell's endoplasmic reticulum and glows green in the presence of nicotine Credit: Lester Group - A neuron containing a biosensor developed by the Lester laboratory glows in the presence of varying concentrations of nicotine.
When a person takes a puff on a cigarette, nicotine floods into the brain, latching onto receptors on the surface of neurons and producing feelings of happiness. But nicotine does not simply stay on the surface of cells-the drug actually permeates into neural cells and alters them from the inside out. Now, a team of scientists has developed a protein sensor that glows in the presence of nicotine, allowing the researchers to observe nicotine's movements in cells and reveal more about the nature of nicotine addiction. The work was led by Henry Lester , professor of biology at Caltech and previously a visiting scientist at the Janelia Research Campus of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI). A paper describing the research appears online on February 4 in the Journal of General Physiology . Lester is also an affiliated faculty member of the Tianqiao and Chrissy Chen Institute for Neuroscience at Caltech. The endoplasmic reticulum is the equivalent of a cell's factory and warehouse-the place where proteins are synthesized and packaged in order to be shipped to various other locations both inside and outside of the cell.
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