FEBS Letters
March 1, 2025
Niklas Viohl, Ali Asghar Hakami Zanjani, Himanshu Khandelia
7 citations
5HT2AR is a G-protein-coupled receptor that drives many neuronal functions and is a target for psychedelic drugs. Understanding ligand interactions and conformational transitions is essential for developing effective pharmaceuticals, but mechanistic details of 5HT2AR activation remain poorly understood. We utilized all-atom molecular dynamics simulations and free-energy calculations to...
Biochimica et biophysica acta. Proteins and proteomics
July 1, 2023
Ali Asghar Hakami Zanjani, Teresa Quynh Tram Nguyen, Luise Jacobsen et al.
6 citations
Magic mushrooms, and their extract psilocybin, are well-known for their psychedelic properties and recreational use. Psilocin, the bio-active form of psilocybin, can potentially treat various psychiatric diseases. Psilocin putatively exerts its psychedelic effect as an agonist to the serotonin 2A receptor (5-HT2AR), which is also the receptor for the neurological hormone serotonin. The two key...
Chemistry and Physics of Lipids
January 7, 2023
Fateme Zohairi, Himanshu Khandelia, Ali Asghar Hakami Zanjani
20 citations
Naturally occurring psychedelics have been used for a long time as remedies or in religious ceremonies and recreational activities. Recent studies have proven the therapeutic potential of some psychedelic compounds to safely treat a wide range of diseases such as anxiety, depression, migraine, and addiction. It is hypothesized that psychedelic compounds like tryptamines can exert their effects...
Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Biomembranes
May 10, 2022
Teresa Quynh Tram Nguyen, Frederik W. Lund, Ali Asghar Hakami Zanjani et al.
9 citations
The active hallucinogen of magic mushrooms, psilocin, is being repurposed to treat nicotine addiction and treatment-resistant depression. Psilocin belongs to the tryptamine class of psychedelic compounds which include the hormone serotonin. It is believed that psilocin exerts its effect by binding to the serotonin 5-HT2A receptor. However, recent in-vivo evidence suggests that psilocin may...