Researchers at LKSOM Make Key Advance in Cell Biology

Researchers at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University (LKSOM), in collaboration with scientists at the University of Cambridge, have demonstrated that choline is an endogenous activator of sigma-1 receptors, an important advance in cell biology. Sigma-1 receptors are targets on psychoactive drugs that are commonly abused. Eugen Brailoiu, MD, Adjunct Associate Professor at the Center for Substance Abuse Research (CSAR) at LKSOM, is the study’s lead author and Mary E. Abood, PhD, Professor of Anatomy and Cell Biology at LKSOM and CSAR Professor, is co-author. The findings were published online in the journal Cell Reports and then picked up by ScienceDaily, Scienmag, Phys.org and Technology Networks.