Nature Communications · 5 September 2026 · From issue 32
Steric control of signaling bias in the immunometabolic receptor GPR84
In lab experiments, tiny shape changes in a drug controlled which of two cell signals turned on.
Pinqi Wang, Xuan Zhang et al.
A cell surface sensor called GPR84 can send two different internal signals when a drug binds to it. Scientists found three similar drug molecules that turn on one signal fully but turn on a second signal by very different amounts. A detailed picture of one drug attached to the sensor showed that small chemical bumps on the drug push against two spots inside the sensor. This breaks a chain of connections that the sensor needs to trigger the second signal, while leaving the first signal untouched.
The number of similar drugs compared to see how small shape changes shift which cell signal turns on.
Lab and computer study only, no animal or human testing yet.
Integrity screen: passed (3 checks) Checked 8 September 2026. Retraction record: none. DOI resolves at doi.org. Metadata record found (Nature Communications). Read the source
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