Structural dynamic insights revealed the mechanisms of PC1 activation by stalk-derived peptide agonists which can form a foundation for development of PC1 as a therapeutic target for ADPKD treatment.

Agonist and antagonist peptides of the corticotropin-releasing factor receptor type 1 adopt different folds and stabilize distinct conformations of the receptor transmembrane domain, which involves tilting of helices VI and VII around conserved glycine hinges.

While Dectin-1 is a well-known C-type lectin receptor recognizing b-glucan and involved in anti-fungal immunity, human Dectin-1 is O-glycosylated and acts as a ligand for another C-type lectin receptor, CLEC-2, expressed by platelets that mediates homeostatic responses such as lymphangiogenesis.

New biophysical methods and analyses visualize in real-time a chain of coordinated single-molecular events on a living cell, enabling the inner workings of a mechanoreceptor important to biology to be elucidated.