Dynamic variations of the cell microenvironment can affect cell differentiation, cell signaling pathways, individual growth, and disease. Optogenetics combines gene-encoded protein expression with optical controlling, and offers a novel, reversible, non-invasive and spatiotemporal-specific research tool to dynamically or reversibly regulate cell signaling pathways, subcellular localization and gene expression. This review summarizes the types of optogenetic components and the involved cellular signaling pathways, and explores the application and future prospects of the light-controlled cell signaling pathways.
细胞所处微环境的动态变化对细胞分化、细胞信号通路、个体生长以及疾病等有很大影响。光遗传学技术利用基因编码蛋白质表达并结合光控的手段为动态调控细胞信号通路、细胞定位和基因表达等方面提供了一种全新、无损、可逆、非侵入、时空特异性的研究手段。文中总结了光遗传学元件的类型以及涉及的细胞信号通路，并探讨了光控细胞信号通路的应用与未来发展前景。.
Keywords: light-controlled gene switch; light-controlled signal transduction; optogenetics; spatiotemporal control; synthetic biology.