Genetically magnetic control of neural system via TRPV4 activation with magnetic nanoparticles
Songfang Wu, Hong Li, Dongqi Wang, Luming Zhao, Xin Qiao, Xiao Zhang, Wei Liu, Changyong Wang, Jinchuan Zhou
Abstract
In recent years, various kinds of nanomaterials based invasive or non-invasive deep neural stimulation tools are developed for modulating neural system and illuminating the relationship between neural circuits and specific behaviors. For better modulation of neural system and clinical application, the neural stimulation nanotools should be optimized. In this work, we demonstrated a novel non-invasive neural modulation approach relying on magnetic field, which is realized by modifying magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) with anti-His antibody and inserting His-tag at specific position of TRPV4 to target the activation of TRPV4 ion channel. The activated TRPV4 ion channel could induce the calcium influx by in vitro calcium imaging assay in cultured neurons. This study showed that this approach can improve the calcium transient compared with unmodified MNPs. Furthermore, this approach was confirmed in freely moving mice presenting valid magnetic control of rotation around the body-axis and freezing of gait. This work demonstrates that TRPV4 ion channel can be activated by MNPs based nanotool, which provides a new alternative way for achieving magnetic stimulation in deep-brain circuits. This work also can serve as a useful validation study for magnetogenetics.