New Publication – Insights into Frizzled/WNT Signalling with Salipro®

Sometimes the lipids are part of the mechanism.

GPCRs are among the most important drug targets, and Salipro® enables their study in native-like lipid environments. 

While previous detergent-based structures could not reveal the functional role of PIP2, in this recent preprint the researchers show that this lipid is an integral part of the Frizzled/WNT signaling mechanism itself. By studying the GPCR in Salipro®, the researchers were able to reveal lipid-protein interactions and a mechanism that promotes coupling between Frizzled and its intracellular signaling partner, Dishevelled. 

This study also represents one of the first public GPCR structures generated using Salipro®, highlighting the importance of preserving native-like lipid environments when studying membrane proteins.

Congratulations to Gunnar Schulte and colleagues on this exciting contribution to GPCR and structural biology research!

Find the preprint here: G. Schulte, R. Shekhani, M. Scharf, et al., Conserved allosteric regulation of Frizzled-Dishevelled coupling by phosphatidylinositol-bisphosphate, PREPRINT (Version 1) available at Research Square (2026).