Membrane-initiated steroid signaling (MISS) is a recently discovered aspect of steroidal control over cell function that has proved highly challenging to study due to its rapidity and ultrasensitivity to the steroid trigger [Chow RWY, Handelsman DJ, Ng MKC (2010) Endocrinology 151:2411–2422]. Fundamental aspects underlying MISS, such as receptor binding, kinetics of ion-channel opening, and production of downstream effector molecules remain obscure because a pristine molecular technology that could trigger the release of signaling steroids was not available. We have recently described a prototype DNA nanocapsule which can be programmed to release small molecules upon photoirradiation [Veetil AT, et al. (2017) Nat Nanotechnol 12:1183–1189]. Here we show that this DNA-based molecular technology can now be programmed to chemically trigger MISS, significantly expanding its applicability to systems that are refractory to photoirradiation.

膜启动类固醇信号转导（MISS）是类固醇控制细胞功能的一个新发现方面，由于其对类固醇触发的快速性和超敏感性已被证明极具挑战性[Chow RWY，Handelsman DJ，Ng MKC（2010）Endocrinology 151 ：2411–2422]。MISS的基本面（如受体结合，离子通道打开动力学和下游效应分子的产生）仍然晦涩难懂，因为尚不存在可以触发信号甾体释放的原始分子技术。我们最近描述了一种原型DNA纳米胶囊，可以对其进行编程，使其在光辐照后释放出小分子[Veetil AT等人。（2017）Nat纳米技术12：1183-1189]。在这里，我们证明了现在可以对这种基于DNA的分子技术进行编程，以化学方式触发MISS，从而将其适用性大大扩展到对光辐照难以耐受的系统。