G PROTEIN-COUPLED RECEPTORS (GPCRS)
The µ-opioid receptor
The µ-opioid receptor (µOR) is a class A GPCR, and the main target of clinically important opioid drugs, such as morphine and fentanyl that are potent analgesics for the treatment of moderate to severe pain. However, opioid drugs can also cause fatal toxic side-effects and have high abuse potential. Consequently, opioid addiction has become a large and growing public health problem globally.Our cryoEM structures of the µ-OR will contribute to the development of novel therapeutics.This work has been done in collaboration with the group of Prof. Miriam Stöber located at the Centre médical Universitaire (CMU) in Geneva. For More information on Prof. Stöber's group please click here.
Literature:
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.12.06.570395v1
TARGETING GPCRs WITH NANOBODIES
Drug design guided by nanobodies
Expanding the horizon of drug design, our studies demonstrate the potential of nanobodies as an innovative class of GPCR ligands. Here, we are particularly interested in downsizing nanobodies into cyclic peptides that retain GPCR specificity and high-affinity binding to design novel drugs to expand the availability of effective GPCR ligands. In our group we are interested in a number of different medical relevant GPCRs. Please contact us for more information.