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. 1996 Jun 11;93(12):6118–6123. doi: 10.1073/pnas.93.12.6118

A single residue in the M2-M3 loop is a major determinant of coupling between binding and gating in neuronal nicotinic receptors.

A Campos-Caro 1, S Sala 1, J J Ballesta 1, F Vicente-Agulló 1, M Criado 1, F Sala 1
PMCID: PMC39199  PMID: 8650229

Abstract

Binding of agonists to nicotinic acetylcholine receptors generates a sequence of changes that activate a cation-selective conductance. By measuring electrophysiological responses in chimeric alpha7/alpha3 receptors expressed in Xenopus oocytes, we have showed the involvement of the M2-M3 loop in coupling agonist binding to the channel gate. An aspartate residue therein, Asp-266 in the alpha7 subunit, was identified by site-directed mutagenesis as crucial, since mutants at this position exhibited very poor functional responses to three different nicotinic agonists. We have extended this investigation to another neuronal nicotinic receptor (alpha3/beta4), and found that a homologous residue in the beta4 subunit, Asp-268, played a similar role in coupling. These findings are consistent with a hypothesis that the aspartate residue in the M2-M3 loop, which is conserved in all homomer-forming alpha-type subunits and all neuronal beta-type subunits that combine to form functional receptors, is a major determinant of information transmission from binding site to channel gate in all neuronal nicotinic receptors.

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Selected References

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