Lipid regulation of TRP channels: More than meets the eye
August 25, 2026 @ 15:15 – 16:15 CEST
For the fall’s first Spotlight seminar, we are happy to welcome Professor Ute Hellmich from the Faculty of Chemistry and Earth Sciences, Institute of Organic Chemistry and Macromolecular Chemistry (IOMC) at Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena
Abstract
Cells rely on membrane receptors to detect and integrate diverse environmental signals. Ligands such as small molecules, peptides or ions trigger conformational changes that regulate downstream signalling cascades. This classic, 3D-centric view is challenged by the finding that nearly half of the human proteome is predicted to be intrinsically disordered.
Many membrane receptors, including most Transient Receptor Potential (TRP) channels, contain large intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs) whose dynamic nature has severely hampered structural characterization. Therefore, the contribution of IDRs to signal sensing remains poorly understood and the structural dimensions of TRP channels are notoriously underestimated.
Here, using an integrated structural biology approach, we show that disordered channel regions contribute to multipartite signalling networks of plasma membrane and lysosomal TRP ion channels and play crucial roles in lipid-dependent functional regulation. This work thus provides a conceptual blueprint how complex membrane receptors are regulated by
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