title: MagR Alone Is Insufficient to Confer Cellular Calcium Responses to Magnetic Stimulation.
abstract: Magnetic manipulation of cell activity offers advantages over optical manipulation but an ideal tool remains elusive. The MagR protein was found through its interaction with cryptochrome (Cry) and the protein in solution appeared to respond to magnetic stimulation (MS). After we initiated an investigation on the specific role of MagR in cellular response to MS, a subsequent study claimed that MagR expression alone could achieve cellular activation by MS. Here we report that despite systematically testing different ways of measuring intracellular calcium and different MS protocols, it was not possible to detect any cellular or neuronal responses to MS in MagR-expressing HEK cells or primary neurons from the dorsal root ganglion and the hippocampus. By contrast, in neurons co-expressing MagR and channelrhodopin, optical but not MS increased calcium influx in hippocampal neurons. Our results indicate that MagR alone is not sufficient to confer cellular magnetic responses.
authors.affiliation: School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tsinghua UniversityBeijing, China; School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua UniversityBeijing, China; Tsinghua-Peking Center for Life Sciences, Tsinghua UniversityBeijing, China.
authors.forename: Keliang
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Pang
authors.affiliation: School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tsinghua UniversityBeijing, China; School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua UniversityBeijing, China; Tsinghua-Peking Center for Life Sciences, Tsinghua UniversityBeijing, China.
authors.forename: He
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: You
authors.affiliation: School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tsinghua University Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Yanbo
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tsinghua UniversityBeijing, China; School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua UniversityBeijing, China.
authors.forename: Pengcheng
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Chu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Molecular Medicine, Peking University Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Meiqin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tsinghua UniversityBeijing, China; Artemisinin Research Center, Institute of Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical SciencesBeijing, China.
authors.forename: Jianying
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.affiliation: School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tsinghua University Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: School of Life Sciences, Peking University Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Can
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.affiliation: School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tsinghua University Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Bai
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D020013:Calcium Signaling / Q000502:physiology*; D010856:Columbidae; D057809:HEK293 Cells; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007506:Iron-Sulfur Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D060526:Magnetic Fields; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D010812:Physical Stimulation
chemical_list: D007506:Iron-Sulfur Proteins
keywords: calcium imaging; cryptochrome; hippocampal neurons; magnetic field; magnetogenetics; neural modulation