Jurgen Wess
Scientific Tracks Abstracts: J Diabetes Metab
G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) play critical roles in maintaining proper glucose and energy homeostasis. During the past few years, clozapine-N-oxide (CNO)-sensitive designer GPCRs have emerged as valuable new tools to dissect the in vivo roles of distinct G protein signaling pathways in specific cell types or tissues. Structurally, these novel receptors (alternative name: designer receptors exclusively activated by designer drugs; DREADDs) are mutant muscarinic acetylcholine (ACh) receptors that are unable to bind the endogenous ligand, ACh. However, DREADDs can be activated by CNO with high potency and efficacy. Importantly, CNO is otherwise pharmacologically inert.
Jurgen Wess is the Chief of the Molecular Signaling Section, Laboratory of Bioorganic Chemistry, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), NIH, Bethesda, Maryland, USA. He received his Ph.D. in Pharmacology from the Johann Wolfgang-Goethe University in Frankfurt/Main (Germany) and subsequently worked as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), NIH, Bethesda, Maryland, USA. One major focus of Dr. Wess' lab is to explore the roles of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) in maintaining proper glucose and energy homeostasis.
