Volume 36, No 2, Feb 2026

ISSN: 1001-0602 
EISSN: 1748-7838 2018 
impact factor 17.848* 
(Clarivate Analytics, 2019)

Volume 36 Issue 2, February 2026: 97-98

RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS

Gz and β-arrestin 1 signaling in the μ-opioid receptor

Zhi Cheng , Bryan L. Roth^*

Department of Pharmacology, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
Correspondence: Bryan L. Roth(bryan_roth@med.unc.edu)

In a recent study published in Cell Research, Zhang et al. reported cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) structures of μ-opioid receptor (MOR) in complex with the nonconventional G protein Gz and β-arrestin 1, highlighting how transmembrane helix 1 (TM1) mediates biased transducer signaling. The newly identified TM1-fusion pocket brings new insights into the MOR activation mechanisms and paves the way for the discovery of novel analgesics with attenuated side effects.

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41422-025-01214-4

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