Paper published in Journal of American Chemical Society

JACS is a top journal in the Frank lab’s field; graduate student Sarahi Garza is lead author on the study

The Frank lab had our latest work published in the July issue of the Journal of American Chemical Society—a top journal in our field.

The publication, “Real-Time Optical Control of CB1 Receptor Signaling In Vitro with Tethered Photoswitchable (−)-trans-Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol Derivatives,” introduces the first photoswitchable, orthogonal, remotely tethered THC ligand (PORTL-THC) that enables reversible, light-controlled activation of CB1 cannabinoid receptors with high spatial and temporal precision. The PORTL-THC anchors to genetically encoded SNAP-tags on the cell surface, which enables real-time, fully reversible optical control of CB1 receptor signaling on the surface of cells. This tool opens the door to dissecting CB1 function with unprecedented precision across diverse neural circuits and disease models.

The study leveraged a long-time collaboration between James Frank, Ph.D., and the lab of Erick Carreira, Ph.D., at the university ETH Zurich. Frank lab graduate student Sarahi Garza’s is the lead author on the study, and her research helped get the publication across the finish line.